Dragons of Shame
by JessyG
Summary: The sprit detectives have retired and Botan is living in the human world, very happilly too. Until Hiei shows up...please don't hate me 4 this people! Hint of Saiyuki...but not enough to be a crossover, yo.
1. Chaptire 1

AN: Welcome to the first chaptire of Dragons of Shame. I first started this story when I was fourteen and then I abandoned it due to…well, life. But now I have rekindled my adoration and I am re-birthing the baby! Enjoy, and please, when reviewing don't just leave FLAMES. Tell me what it was like: give real criticism, please! D

Disclaimer: Don't own any Yu Yu Hakusho characters or that from Journey to the West

**Separation line, that's what this little part is, yep, sure is…whee! Isn't this nice? I think it is.**

Botan had just moved into her home in the Human world, it had taken a very long time to convince Koenma. But he really had no need for her any longer, he was married to, so there was no romance involved between them, he had over three thousand ferry girls and the spirit detectives were retired now. There wasn't any point to her staying in the Spirit World.

So there she was, in her new home, with a new body, although she was a demon with very minimal powers, she was still there. Living. No longer a simple ferry girl, she was a person. She was alive, she would be able to love, and get married and then have children with the man who loved her the most…Kur-

A noise at her window interrupted her thoughts. She turned suddenly and gasped, moonlight illuminated the shadowy figure in her bedroom window. "Hiei," she breathed heavily, closing her eyes and throwing the box she'd been carrying to the floor "You scared me!" Hiei said nothing and only stood there, staring. She furrowed her brow quizzically. "What's wrong? Look at you, you're soaking wet, it's raining so hard out there! Let me grab a towel."

As she turned around, she felt a wet and cold hand grasp her wrist. She turned slowly back towards Hiei. He was eye-level with her now, he was no longer the short demon he had used to be. "Hiei…?" he was shaking, his eyes were clouded, and he was silent. "Hiei, what are you doing?" H twisted her around to face him and grabbed her other arm with an almost bone shattering force. She winced and stared at the red-eyed demon in front of her.

His eyes were so clouded they looked grey rather than red, he was trembling and so very cold. "Hiei-that hurts! What are you—" Her words were suddenly cut off as she was thrown onto the bed, she screamed. "Hiei!"

(Later…you can find the full version of this under the same title on released his grip on her and rolled over. Botan woke up, and screamed at the new found pain. Hiei's eyes focused. They were red again. He stared wide eyed at her, she moaned and cried, blood poured from her. Hiei gasped and tried to touch her, tried to figure out some way to take it all back.

She flinched violently and struggled to move away, she retched. "Botan…" Hiei whispered, "I-" but she was no longer awake. Everything inside of Hiei screamed to help her, to turn himself in. Yet he ran.

He felt his body flitting through the trees towards who knows where, leaving Botan in her house, bruised, beaten and possibly dead. He never turned back, even as tears ran down his face, he did not turn around.

2 months later

The now retired Spirit Detectives stood outside the park, in the cool November air. "Where could she be?" Yusuke growled, rubbing his arms in attempts to warm them "Botan would never just bolt like that!" Hiei's stomach twisted but he remained silent. Kurama sighed.

"She…something must have happened to her. She must have been kidnapped or-"

"But nobody has contacted us for ransom." Yusuke cut Kurama off "And if she were dead she would have turned up in Spirit World." Kurama bit his thumb and began to pace.

"Maybe…" Kuwabara started slowly "Maybe, she really didn't want to see any of us ever again? Maybe being alone here was just too much for her?"

"But she had ME!" Kurama shouted, turning pink "I-I mean she had **us**." Hiei sighed and looked away from him. "She'll…she'll come back. I know she will…We just…we just have to be…patient." The other three exchanged doubtful stares.

Meanwhile, in the Demon World

Botan shuddered as the midwife poked her belly with a long, cold finger. The midwife gave her a tentative smile "It will be a boy." She said through a mouth of crooked teeth. "He will be strong and protective and kind."

The Martial Arts Master Yu and the Monkey King Sun Wu K'ung (Goku) stood to the side and smiled. Botan bit her lip as she caught sight of her shadow. Although she was barely two moths along in her pregnancy, she was already showing greatly due to her petite body. "We will protect you, dear Botan." Master Yu said suddenly, noting her worried expression. "We will protect you and your son. In this village, you are one of is."

The Monkey King nodded in agreement, he motioned for the midwife to leave. He waited till she was out of hearing distance before speaking "And no one outside of this room will know of the child's father without your consent." Botan gavehim a grateful smile "I must take my leave, but know this: should you ever need my help, I will come. No matter what, you are like a sister to me, Botan. And as Big Brother, I will make sure you are safe and healthy." He bowed and left them, returning to Heaven.

Master Yu nodded his head and left to retrieve the mid wife. In the momentary solitude, Botan ran a hand over small belly. "Hiei…" she said softly "…why?"

This is the end of the first chapter: believe me. There is a purpose for this fic. As I said before: this is the renewed chapter. The old one really sucked.


	2. Chaptire 2

AN: New chapter- accidentally deleted the old one and guess what? Didn't have it saved anywhere else! So…yeah, yay for that.

**LINE MINE VINE SIGN WHINE WINE NINE NEIN TRYIN BLIND FIND KIND**

16 years later

Three fifteen year old boys sat atop Sarayashiki Junior High's rooftop. One of the boys leaned against the wire roof fence, his face pressed up against the hot metal. This boy was Yuki Urameshi, youngest of the Urameshi twins. He was tall, like his father, impatient and somewhat grouchy like his father as well. He was also possessive and felt the great need for territory and respect. He watched as several students filed out of the building, one by one.

Although Yuki and his father shared their behavior and attitude, they did not get along. And there was once broad difference between Yuki and Yusuke: Yuki had Keiko's face. Where as his older twin brother, Yuji Urameshi was identical to Yusuke, he was Yusuke's height, he had his hair, his smile his muscles, and yet…

He had Keiko's mannerisms. He was second in all his classes, he was quiet and kind, even though he hung around his brother and their best friend most of the time. Although they had a younger brother, Konrad, and another sibling on the way, Yusuke seemed to love Yuji the most. Perhaps it was simply because he acted like Keiko so much, or maybe it was because the boy was trying to make Urameshi a good name.

Whatever it was, it drove Yuki mad. So he lashed out. And during his lashings, he would drag the twin's mutual friend along with every attempt to disrupt society. Kazuma "Zuma" Kuwabara II, oldest and only son of Kazuma senior and Yukina Kuwabara. Zuma favored his father, save for a single, streak of aqua green hair at the back of his neck. Other than that, he was definitely his father. Attaining bad grades, reputation, looks, and spiritual awareness from his dear father.

Yuki whistled at a couple of girls below "HEY!" he shouted "How about you girls and I go to the arcade in a minute—okay then, SLUTS! Don't fucking go out with me, you're the ones who'll be pregnant by next year!" He rattled the gates angrily "Why the hell can we not get any girls?" He looked over his shoulder and then threw an empty soda can at Zuma, it hit him between the eyes.

"OW!" Zuma screeched, Yuji looked over from his homework and rolled his eyes. "What was that for?"

"For not answering my damn question, Zuma!" Ranma yelled back.

"He doesn't know, Yuki" Yuji said dully "You didn't have to hit him because you're a moron who can't figure out that you're socially stunted."

"Shut up!"

"You have no idea what I just told you, do you?' Yuji sneered at his twin "You really **are** a moron!"

Yuki snarled a long list of profanity to which Yuji rolled his eyes and continued his homework. "It was a rhetorical question, you idiot."

"Ooh, 'rhetorical' big word. Where did you hear that one, a porno, Yuki?" Yuji drolled without looking up. "And if it was rhetorical, why did you hit Zuma with a soda can demanding an answer? You don't even know what that means…"

"Oh, get BENT." Yuki growled walking back to the gate.

"Sooner than you will…"

"Shat up!" Yuki snapped back, facing the gate again, he growled and told Zuma to join him "You see that guy?"

"…Yeah…" Zuma said slowly "Ranma Death?"

"Yeah, Ranma Death." Yuki growled "He is the reason we are unable to get girls." Yuji snorted from where he was sitting.

"What do you mean?" Zuma asked, utterly confused.

"BECAUSE," Yuki growled slapping his hand over Zuma's head "Ranma Death is the toughest guy in school, so of course all the girls go for him!" The two boys stared down at Ranma as he walked.

It was true, Ranma Death was considered guy to ever attend Sarayashiki junior high since Yusuke Urameshi. Ranma was also the smartest, nicest, and-according to most of the girls-he was the cutest too. He had jet black hair styled in an emo haircut, with his bangs over his right eye, although he wasn't emo in the least. He was tall, with wine red eyes, and a well toned body. And all of the teachers loved him.

But though he wais adored amongst the girls and the teachers, nearly all the boys envied him. When he began attending Sarayashiki it was the first time anyone had met him before, having been home schooled all his life. The girls had all clung to him like flies to honey when junior high first began, and the boys were all very angry about it.

Even the boys from other schools heard about the pretty-faced Ranma Death, so when Ranma tried to go places, the punks would all try to jump him, only to return home with the worst beat downs of their entire lives. Several of the Sarayashiki students witnessed this and the news of Ranma's strength spread like wild fire, emanating Yuki Urameshi's hate for Ranma Death.

As Ranma walked on, he felt as if someone was watching him, so he stopped and turned towards the source of the feeling. He looked up towards the school roof and grinned evilly. With his left hand pointed like a gun, he aimed it up towards Yuki and Zuma. With another evil smirk and a glare from his visible red eye he mouthed the words "Bang, bang!" and the wire gate the two boys were clutching suddenly gave high electric shock, knocking them down.

They screamed and slid a few feet away from the gate, Yuji's jaw dropped. "What the hell just happened to you two?" he asked, Yuki groaned and stood up, holding his back. He ran towards the gate and found that Ranma was already gone. He breathed heavily and tentatively touched the gate. It was as hot as if lighting had stuck it.

"Zuma, are you okay?" Yuji asked as he helped their friend up.

"Yeah, I think so." Zuma replied "What the heck just happened, Yuki? It was like we were-"

"-Electrocuted." Yuki finished, biting his lip "But that was just a coincidence. But still…Ranma must have seen the lighting come down before it struck-"

"Do you know how stupid that sounds, Yuki?" Yuji snapped "You make it sound like Ranma was trying to kill you just now!" Yuki's brain was fuzzy from the shock, so it took him a moment to comprehend what his twin brother was saying.

"Well…maybe he was!" He snarled "You never know with a freak like him!"

"You're hysterical." Yuji shook his head and began walking towards the door "Leave Ranma Death alone. He has nothing to do with what just happened. That was a coincidence, you said it yourself."

And with those final words he slammed the door shut "Yeah, well, HE'S STILL A FREAK!" Yuki bellowed after him. He shook the gate angrily and grunted. "Zuma, tomorrow do you know what we're going to do?"

"Skip school?"

"No! Well, yes, but that's not what I was talking about!" Yuki smirked "Tomorrow we are going to beat up Ranma Death."

"But I don't want-"

"SHAT UP."

(Separation line)

Ranma smiled as he walked into his house, threw down his back pack and walked into the kitchen to find his mother, Botan, struggling with a large pot of water. "I'm home, mom." Ranma greeted, Botan jumped slightly and almost dropped the pot back into the sink, he moved quickly and took it off her hands.

"Thank, you darling" Botan sighed, wiping her forehead. Ranma smiled and placed it on the stove. "How was your day? Oh, I mead cookies…" She handed him the tray of snicker doodles, from which he took two saucer sized cookies.

Ranma thought back to the earlier "confrontation" with Yuki Urameshi and Zuma Kuwabara. "It was alright, I suppose." He smiled.

"No trouble or anything?" Botan asked while cutting potatoes and placing long spaghetti noodles in the pot to boil, Ranma shook his head "How was your test?"

"Aced it." He replied dully "It was too easy. I'm thinking I should be transferred to a high school…"

"Well, that would be a good idea." She smiled and pecked him on the cheek "Did you already finish your homework?"

"Yep…" Ranma finished one of the cookies "How was your day?" Botan smiled and began to tell him how it went. This was how the nights were usually spent, Ranma would come home from school while Botan made dinner and they would tell each other how their day went. However, because Botan was a writer and she would sometimes have to attend meeting with the publishing company, Ranma would head over to the Demon World and train with his martial arts master.

Today was just a regular day for the two members of the Death family.

During dinner, Ranma told his mother about the new flower shop that had just opened near the school. "Would that be alright if I applied there?" Botan nodded.

"Remember to use a fake last name." Ranma nodded in agreement. He was used to filling out applications with a false name. He wasn't exactly sure why he and his mother had to stay incognito, he knew they were hiding from someone, but as long as the two were safe, he really didn't care. He and his mother were very close. They were all each other had.

And he would do anything to protect her. Yes, perhaps he was a "momma's boy" but he was not a wimp. He always made sure he was at the top of his strength, just in case he needed to use force to keep his mother safe. It was just the way Ranma Death was.

AN: Please read and review! Thanks!


	3. Chaptire 3

Dragons of Shame Chapter 3: roses and dragons

Disclaimers: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho

Ranma awoke at six on Friday, he could hear his mother cooking breakfast downstairs; she always woke up very early, got dressed, made Ranma a lunch, made breakfast, ate, cleaned the dishes, did some chores around the house, called her editor, and finished off a book if she needed to. That was how the mornings went, unless she or Ranma were sick. Ranma stood up out of bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready for school.

When he got finished doing everything needed he walked downstairs and into the dining room. Botan looked up and smiled brightly, she had already set Ranma's plate. "Good morning dear," she greeted him cheerfully "How are you feeling?"

"Okay," he mumbled sitting down and picking up his chopsticks "Don't forget that I'll be late from school today." Botan nodded.

"That's fine, but I won't be here." She said, Ranma raised his eyebrows and swallowed his food.

"Where are you going?" He asked trying not to sound interested.

"A date," Botan answered simply, Ranma stood up and yelled.

"WHAT?" Botan practically fell over from laughing so hard at her son's reaction he frowned and gave her a questioning stare "You're kidding aren't you?"

"Yes," she chortled trying to calm herself once she did so, Ranma sat back down and stared at her. "I'm just going out for a little while, with Fusuke(her editor) he's taking me to the library and since it's pretty far from here and I can't drive he offered to take me when he comes by for the last few chapters of my book. I'll be gone until five or six, seven at the latest." Ranma frowned and shook his head.

"No, I don't want you to go until I get home," He ordered "I don't trust Mr. Saotome(editor) and I don't like you going anywhere without me. So just wait until I get home alright?" This time it was Botan's turn to frown.

"No," she said sternly "stop acting like the parent Ranma. I am the parent not you, and I give the orders do you understand? You have always acted like this and I understand that you do it because you believe that I should be protected all the time but this is enough."

"But I seriously think that it would be better mother." He said "I don't want you to go without me and that's that." He gasped as Botan's hand came across his face sharply, Ranma touched his cheek, it was the first time Botan had ever hit him and it was the first time it was ever needed.

"Ranma Death, stop it right now!" she scorned "Stop acting like the parent, I'm tired of it do you understand? I am going and that is that!" Ranma stood up.

"Fine!" he snapped "But don't come crying to me when you get hurt." And with that he left leaving a stunned Botan at the table.

12:00 in the afternoon Sarayashiki Junior High......

Yuki, Yuji, and Kazuma sat down at their desks and ate lunch "Today is the day," Yuki whispered "We are gonna be the toughest guys in school!" Yuji raised an eyebrow.

"And how are you planning to do that?" he asked.

"Easy, we're going to beat up Death!" Yuki explained as though it was nothing, Yuji started to laugh "What's so funny?"

"Do you know how stupid that sounds?" Yuji chortled "'we're going to beat up Death'?" the other boys looked at each other and shrugged "You guys need to think, Ranma is known for beating up fifty guys at a time, so how easy will it be to beat up you two? Besides, I get a weird vibe from him, his Spirit energy isn't normal it's very similar to Mr. Hiei's."

"Really?" Kazuma asked sounding scared "Maybe we shouldn't fight hum, Yuki. I hate to admit this, but I'm scared of Mr. Hiei. He and dad'll get in these fights and Mr. Hiei always wins. He really beats him up too."

"Whaaaaaaaat?" Yuji and Yuki said at the same time, "Mr. Hiei doesn't beat up your dad!"

"Well, he kind of does!" Kazuma defended himself. "See, dad'll try and tackle him and Mr. Hiei will trip or hit him, or move out of the way and dad'll hurt himself really bad. One time he had to get stitches!" The twins rolled their eyes.

"Well I don't give a damn if Ranma is like Mr. Hiei, I'm still gonna kick his ass old school bitch!" (A/N: Okay, I just had to put that in there people!) Yuki said stubbornly "And I'll do it with or without your help!" Yuji and Kazuma looked at each other and said:

"Without our help." Making Yuki fall to the floor (A/N: Anime style! Yeah!), the classroom door slid opened and Ranma walked in carrying a school bought lunch in one hand and his wallet in the other. He walked past the three boys to his seat and began to eat his lunch, Yuki smiled evily and strode over to him. "Watcha' eatin'?" he asked, Ranma looked up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"What does it look like I'm eating?" He answered smartly, Yuki caught sight of his wallet and snatched it from the young demon's grasp.

"Nice wallet," He said opening it and taking out its contents "Ooh, credit cards, money, hey......American money, school i.d., buss pass, driver's permit, movie rental card, aaaaaand......pictures! Who's this hotty?" he whistled and took the picture out. "Is this your girlfriend, Death?" Ranma stood up and held out his hand.

"No, it is not my girlfriend now give me the photograph." He growled, by this time several other students were drawn to the commotion Yuki shook his head and waved the picture in front of Ranma.

"I won't hand it over until you tell me who she is......" he teased, still waving the picture. More students gathered around the two boys watching Ranma's face flush with anger.

"It is none of your business who she is!" Ranma snapped "Now give me the picture or I'll-"

"You'll what?" Yuki asked loving the attention he was getting from the other students "Who is she? It's a simple question that can get a simple answer! So just let me know, is she single?"

"IT"S MY MOTHER!" Ranma yelled, this took Yuki by surprise. Ranma took the opportunity to grab the photo, he grinned evilly, "Now I have an even better reason to pound your face into the ground, Urameshi. I'll see you after school, let's fight off of school grounds- that is, unless you want to get in trouble because I can get myself out of it. With the teachers on my side and all after al,l why shouldn't they be? I am the school's prize student and all, I don't mean to brag-I was only thinking of your benefit......really I was." Yuki's tick was the size of an orange as he walked back to his seat, trying to ignore Ranma's smirk.

PASSING PERIOD-

"Okay, now I'm pissed!" Yujk complained to his younger brother, Konrad, Yuji rolled his eyes and Kazuma(who was on Yuki's side again) nodded his head after every sentence his angry friend said. "He had some nerve threatening me like that!"

"Well, there has to be a reason he threatened you." Konrad said softly "And don't lie, Yuki." Yuki looked to the side and blushed slightly.

"He took Ranma's wallet," Yuji explained dully "And a picture of his mom." Konrad narrowed his eyes at Yuki who whistled innocently.

"KAZUMA!" came a young girl's voice from behind them, they all turned around to see Kazuma's little sister, Sakura walking towards them "Kazuma, is it true? Are you really going to get in a fight with Ranma Death?"

"Who told you?" Kazuma asked, this time Yuki began to whistle Kazuma sighed but then straightened up and flexed "Yes, little sister I Kazuma Kuwabara the Second will beat up that fiend and straiten him out for his wrong doings!" Konrad's brown eyes widened and he and Yuki stepped back.

"Uh-oh......" Konrad muttered.

"Here it comes......" Yuji added, the two brothers covered their ears and closed their eyes.

"KAZUMA KUWABARA! YOU WILL NOT LAY ONE HAND ON MY TUTOR'S HEAD, BECAUSE IF YOU DO-I'LL TELL MOM AND DAD WHAT YOU MADE ON YOUR LAST TEST!" Sakura yelled, Yuki and Kazuma stood flat against the wall with their mouths hanging wide open.

"I-I can't fight Ranma with you." Kazuma screamed, Yuki nodded.

"I didn't know he was your tutor." He said regaining himself.

"Every girl wants him as their tutor." Konrad said "He is the most popular guy in school and the smartest."

"And the hottest!" Sakura added blushing madly "Well, almost all girls find him attractive."

"I still don't know what you see in that jerk," Yuki said scuffing the floor with his sneaker "He's stuck up cause he's smart and stuff, and because all the girls kiss the ground he walks on. I bet you he's all talk and can't fight at all, but I'll give him this much-his mom's a babe."

"Did you know she's a novelist?" Yuji asked, everyone stared at him.

"Who is?" Yuki asked.

"Ranma's mom." Konrad answered for his brother "She's a really good writer, she writes about all sorts of stuff a lot of, like martial arts, fantasy, romance, horror, and comedy."

"Yeah, I liked her book 'The Cat and the Jackass' it was really funny" Sakura said "It was about a girl who fell in love with the class clown. Have you read it Yuki?" He nodded and said

"Yeah, but I really like 'Sword of Ice and Fire' it was really good." Sakura frowned slightly.

"What's that about?" She asked "I haven't read it yet."

"Well, it isn't for children........." Yuji explained "The only reason I know about it is because I read it at Mr. Kurama's house, and Mr. Hiei caught me reading it and took it away so I didn't get to the ending." Konrad raised his eyebrows.

"Is that the one where that girl get's-"

"Yeah," Yuji cut his younger brother off and the three began to talk about books while Kazuma and Yuki watched.

"Hey you know what?" Yuki cut them all off "WHO FRICKEN' CARES, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT RANMA THE ASSHOLE, NOT HIS PSYCHO WRITER MOM!"

"Hey, don't go dissing Mrs. Death's books just because you can't read!" Sakura snapped making everyone else(except Yuji) snicker.

"BURN!" they all said.

"I can too read!" Yuki defended himself "and I can spell too, so there! I'm smarter!"

"Alright then smart-guy," Sakura said "Spell 'supercalifragiliciousexpialidotius' then if your so smart!" Yuki stuck his tongue out "Oh yeah, real mature Yuji you'd never guess that you were four!"

"Hey, I know this is off subject but........." Konrad started getting their attention "I heard that the reason Ranma is so strong, is because he doesn't have a dad and he wants to protect his mom."

"Are you serious?" Kazuma asked Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, once while he was tutoring me, I asked him what his parents did and he said-

*FLASHBACK*

'So what do your parents do Ranma?' Sakura asked he looked up at her and smiled sheepishly.

'A little off subject isn't it?' he asked sakura giggled 'well, it's not really a big deal but my mother is a novelist.'

'And your dad? What does he do?' Sakura asked, Ranma frowned and looked down at his papers.

'I've never met him, I don't know anything about him actually, but it's not a big deal. Now we need to get back to work.........'

*End of flashback*

"I never knew that," Kazuma said "That sucks, I don't know what I'd ever do without my dad, maybe you shouldn't fight him Yuki." Yuki shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied "I do feel bad for him now, but I still think he's all talk." Yuki heaved a loud sigh and leaned against the wall catching their attention. "What is it?"

"Well, I didn't want to bring this up because I thought that Sakura would change your mind somehow but......" Yuji answered softly "Ranma isn't just talk, do you remember that demon tournament dad and Mr. Kurama took me to?" Yuki and everyone else nodded "Well, Ranma was there. Competing. He made it to the last round and I'm positive he would've won if he hadn't killed the bouncer and been disqualified. His powers and martial arts skills were awesome. Dad and Mr. Kurama were on the edge of their seats watching him, he was graceful and it seemed like nothing applied to him. He defied the laws of gravity, physics, I mean he did stuff I didn't think was even possible! Even they were surprised to see so much power. It was unreal. But........." he trailed off.

"What?" they all pressed "But what?"

"His spirit energy......" Yuji said in a tone so low it was almost a whisper "His spirit energy was almost exactly like Mr. Hiei's." They all stood in silence except for the occasional students running down the halls throwing paper airplanes, and spit wads at each other like children.

"So are you saying," Kazuma started breaking the silence "That Ranma is a demon?"

"It's likely," Yuji answered running a hand through his black hair "Maybe we should talk to dad about it?" Yuki and Konrad shook their heads.

"Ask our dad?" Yuki snorted "The former Spirit Detective who knows squat about demons except ~mocking his father's voice~ 'All the one's who aren't on my side are evil and should be destroyed, damn demons! Hahahahahaha-no offense Kurama!' "

" 'None taken' " Everyone copied Kurama's usual remark, they all laughed and then Konrad gasped.

"That's it!" he exclaimed "We'll ask Mr. Kurama."

"Yeah, that's a great idea." Yuji agreed "and we can ask Mr. Hiei to help us figure out if Ranma's really a demon or not, but Mr. Hiei might be a little hard to convince......"

"Mr. Kurama will get him to help." Sakura said everyone nodded and the bell rang. "Well let's get to class and meet up here after school." They all went back to their classes.


	4. Chaptire 4

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH

AN: Hello, everyone. It's been quite a while since I've updated. (currently 5/18/10) I'm currently working on the latest chapter to this story, and I'm also doing a bit of editing to past chapters (like this one). I won't edit all the chapters, just the ones with major errors. For several chapters, I mixed up Yuji and Yuki's names, something that really bugged me. Anyway, enjoy.

Ch. 4: Roses and Dragons part 2

---3pm, after school--

Ranma walked down the street to the new flower shop, fuming. "Why did I ever tell that stupid Sakura Kuwabara about my life?" he thought to himself angrily, "I should've known she was would tell her brother and his friends about my parents. Why did I even tutor that idiot? Stupid girl, stupid kindness of mine! And I was really looking forward to fighting Urameshi, he seemed like a worthy opponent.

Moments before the school bell had rung, Sakura had come running up to Ranma to inform him that Yuki and Kazuma had backed out of the fight. "Just because they're chickens," she had said, but Ranma knew better and quickly read the girl's mind and found out the real reason they'd backed out.

"Wha-"Ranma's thoughts were interrupted as something fell on his head, he held out his hand and a rain droplet fell upon it. "Rain?" he said out loud, at that point it started to sprinkle so he walked a bit faster to the flower shop.

--At the flower shop --

Hiei watched Kurama as he swept up a broken vase Hiei had knocked down. "I've just opened this shop, Hiei and you've already broken a hundred flower pots and vases." He glared at his friend who merely shrugged dully, "You should be more careful."

"Hn," Hiei replied simply. Kurama gave him another death glare.

"Anyway, as I was saying before you ruined a vase worth two thousand yen," he continued calmly, "Botan has written a new book."

"Did she?" Hiei said, taking a sip from his soda, not sounding the least bit interested "What was it about?" he took a long chug from his Ramune.

"Rape," Hiei spat his drink out, drenching Kurama's face. "Lovely," the red-haired man grimaced and wiped his face with his apron. "Thank you, Hiei."

"Hn," Hiei replied again, hiding his smirk.

"You know," Kurama mused lightly, "you always behave oddly whenever someone mentions Botan."

Hiei ignored him, and was grateful for the distraction of a customer walking into the shop. The two older demons' eyes turned to the young boy of about fifteen standing in the doorway. He grinned sheepishly from behind jet black bangs. Hiei's red eyes narrowed at the boy, for while the teenager seemed quite familiar the koorime was sure they had never met.

Kurama smiled broadly, "Good afternoon, how can I help you?"

The boy's face went a bit red as he answered, "I was wondering if you knew what flowers were best for an apology."

"I would guess the receiver's favorite flower…is it for your girlfriend?"

"No, it's my mother. She likes peonies…do you have any pink ones?"

Kurama nodded and whipped out a note pad, "Yes, of course. How many would you like? I would recommend a dozen, with not just pink but a variety of other colors as well."

"That will be just fine," the teen replied, casting a wary glance at Hiei's blatant stares. "Make it twelve dozen." Kurama dropped the notepad, averting Hiei's attention.

"_Twelve_ dozen?" Kurama repeated, stopping to pick up his notepad.

Hiei smirked and gazed at the boy again, "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" The boy grinned audaciously and pulled out his wallet, impeding any more questions they might have.

By the time he'd paid the 50,000¥ for the flowers, the threatening rain was already pouring down heavily. The boy decided to wait in the shop for Kurama to put the bouquets together. In the meantime, Hiei had taken it upon himself to figure out whether or not he actually knew the boy.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked boldly.

"Ranma," the teenager answered simply fixating his red gaze upon the man. Hiei frowned lightly at the ever-present familiarity about him. "What's yours?"

"Hiei," Hiei replied "What school do you go to?"

"That's a personal question, I think." Ranma replied. "I'm not sure I should tell you, you might be a pedophile for all I know." The boy was bold, _very_ bold. He didn't know what Hiei could do to him.

_'But,'_ Hiei thought to himself, _'He doesn't seem the type who would care even if he knew.'_ Hiei smirked and shook his head.

"Why would I want to molest some kid?" he asked, Ranma smiled.

"The same reason all the other perverts do: carnal satisfaction." He answered cockily, "But even if you did try to touch me, I'd kill you in under a minute."

"Well, I assure you, I am not a pedophile." Hiei informed, "I wouldn't touch another man, let alone a kid." _'But you'd rape a woman.'_ The words struck Hiei out of nowhere, like an alien voice within his mind. Though he chose to ignore the voice, his gaze fell to the floor with the weight of the shame.

"I go to Sarayashiki Junior High," Ranma informed, ripping Hiei from his thoughts.

"You go to the same school as my friend's kids." Hiei said "Maybe you know them, Urameshi and Kuwabara."

"Oh, yes I know them, Yuji, Yuki, and Konrad Urameshi and Kazuma and Sakura Kuwabara. I'm in the same class as the older ones, and I tutor Sakura. I don't really know Konrad." Hiei nodded "I'm sorry to tell you, but Kazuma and Yuki get on my nerves."

"Yes, they can be quite irritating…just like their fathers." Hiei agreed, "Though their martial art skills are impressive."

Ranma snorted, "You can be the best fighter in the world and still be a total douche if you continue to act like one."

Hiei snorted and nodded his head in agreement, "Yeah, that's true." He grinned, "So, what did you do to your mom?" Ranma grimaced.

"Well," he started "I acted out of my place...I acted like the parent."

"How so?" Hiei asked.

"Well, see I'm kind of...protective of my mother," Ranma replied slowly, as thought trying to find the right words "And, I don't like for her to go out anywhere without me. And today she said she was going somewhere and wouldn't be home when I got there from school, so I told her just to wait. She got kind of angry and told me she was going without me, and we got into an argument, I got pissed and snapped at her and left. I think I hurt her feelings..."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you," Hiei murmured, Ranma stared up at him and flushed slightly.

"Y-you think so?" he asked, not really understanding why he wanted to know what this man, this stranger, thought. There was a strange connection, and it was making Ranma feel uneasy, but at the same time...quite at home.

"Yeah," Hiei answered with a small smirk, bringing a grin to Ranma's face. Over the next thirty minutes the two talked about a lot of things, getting to know each other, not knowing or having the slightest clue that they were father and son.

"It's finished!" Kurama said cheerfully, walking in with a very large vase full of bright pink peonies and baby's breath. Ranma smiled and straitened up from leaning over the counter.

"Thank you very much." He said with another smile "Oh, by the way, I was wondering if you're hiring...I think I'll have some free time after school from now on...so..."

"Oh!" Kurama said, pulling out an application form and handing it to Ranma "Yes, we are, that would be great if you could just fill this form out and bring it back, please..."

"Okay, would it be alright if I brought it back tomorrow?" Ranma asked slipping the form in his briefcase, Kurama nodded and waved as Ranma stepped outside, the vase in one hand and the cell phone to his ear with the other saying "Yes, could I get a cab to-" his voice was cut off as the shop door closed.

Kurama leaned on the counter, his head propped up on his elbow saying "That boy, just spent fifty thousand yen on flowers for his mother."

"Reminds me of you." Hiei said, Kurama chuckled.

"Yes, he kind of does," he agreed, glancing at Hiei, "But he also reminds me of you." Hiei cocked an eyebrow.

"How so?" he asked, Kurama chuckled and shrugged.

"Different ways, I guess." He replied "I look forward to having him work here, he has a good head on his shoulders, but, I know I've seen him somewhere before..."

"Maybe you've seen him at the twin's school." Hiei said, Kurama pursed his lips and shook his head "no, that's not it...Hm, ah well. Let's get back to work, well that's what I'd say if we had any work to do, but we don't..."

"Well, we're about to." Hiei said "Because that vase is about to fall."

"CATCH IT!"


	5. Chaptire 5

AN: SO, everyone…Jessy is finally BACK! WHEE! My apologies for the prolonged wait of updates…I was going through…well, life. Ahaha. I'm currently in college and am having a wonderful life; bereft of drama and any other object/people I have considered thorns in my side. So, yes, yay for me and my smexiness! Ahaha, I hope you all enjoy the new chapter and the soon to come updates/fixing of the other stories (if anyone is still interested in checking out this stuff) well, here it is: Chapter five of Dragons of Shame

Ranma walked into the empty, dark house, flowers in hand. Once he turned the light on, he set them on the dining room table. He hoped she liked them, and that they would aid in her forgiving his cruel words. It wasn't that he meant to hurt her, in fact, that was the last thing he wanted. As her only child, and the only real "man" in her life, he felt it his duty to protect her by any means necessary. However, her resentment towards him was not supposed to fit into any of his plans.

He furrowed his brow and sighed heavily, walking up the stairs towards his room. He couldn't just trap his mother in the house and keep her out of world's view forever, let her become unhealthy as well as unhappy. No. That would never happen, he would NEVER do that to his beloved mother. _"But it would be so much __**easier **__if you did, you know."_ Said a tiny voice in his head.

"No, it would not." Ranma muttered out loud. This wasn't the first time that tiny little bastard of a voice had attempted to dictate his actions. When he killed the referee in a demon tournament, it hadn't been by accident. No, it only _seemed_ like that.

Normally, Ranma would never have thought about killing the ref. No, no, not Ranma Death, straight "A" student, and upstanding teenage citizen. No. But when the Referee had called a foul, earlier…oh, something inside of Ranma awoke. A tiny voice, just barely above a whisper said, _"What does __**she**__ know? She doesn't even __**fight**__! She only stands there with her microphone and her short skirts. What could she possibly know?"_

And Ranma had agreed, but quickly shook the thought out of his mind. During the fight, the voice returned, louder this time. _"You will never win with this referee. She's been paid off! Kill her. You know that is the only solution to be judged fairly. She's involved with this demon. She's FILTH. Kill her, Ranma. Do it."_ But Ranma was shaking his head, fighting the urge to turn his attack towards the referee.

"No!" he argued with himself "NO! I will not"

"_You have to Ranma! What will your mother say when you come home defeated because of that trash? DO IT. KILL her, Ranma. __**KILL HER.**__" _And with an enraged cry, he did it. It was painful, to do. Not because of the morality of the situation, no, that was the least of his worries. His body, inside and out, literally PAINED, he felt as if his pores were screaming in protest, there was a loud noise, a wave of heat, and then…dust.  
Dust and rubble was scattered around him and the stadium.

"What…?" And then all was silent. But everyone in the stadiums was screaming and cheering. He had won the match! He would go to the finals! But then the judges were yelling something, and the dead referee girl's body was being dragged out of the rubble. Everything was still silent. Someone was grabbing him, trying to pull him what was left of the arena. Ranma looked up at the flashing board, "DISQUALIFIED" was plastered across his picture. The crowd was roaring in protest, calling his name, DEMANDING his name. But the judges were leaving.

And he was still being tugged, finally the sound returned and he seemed to come back to reality. "DISQUALFIED?!" He roared angrily, the voice inside his head was no longer egging him on; this was all Ranma "YOU DARE TO DISQUALIFY ME? IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! THE STUPID GIRL SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN STANDING THERE! I DEMAND A REMATCH! COME BACK HERE! COOOOME BACK!!!"

The sound of the door opening brought Ranma back to the present time; he was standing in the middle of the stairs, apparently having stopped climbing while lost in his memory. Botan was home. Ranma turned around and raced back to the living room to not only find his mother but also her editor, Ken Saotome sitting on the couch together. The looked up as he walked into the room.

"Ranma!" Ken greeted happily, standing up and holding his hand out. Ranma ignored the gesture and stared at his mother.

"Mom." He said softly, trying to keep his voice calm as the little voice bellowed angrily about the stranger in their home. "I'm glad you're back." Botan said nothing to him, and instead turned towards Ken.

"Thank you very much for a lovely day, Ken." She said sweetly "I hope we can set up another wonderful day again."

Ken smiled and shot a nervous glance in Ranma's direction, Botan continued to ignore her son. "Would you like me to walk you to the door, Ken?" she asked, before taking his arm and leading him to the front door, Ranma bit his lip and closed his eyes as they walked by. She was still angry with him. _Very_ angry. The little voice in his mind was laughing.

"_Looks like your mother has a found a new object of affection."_ It chortled _"Does that not anger you? You let yourself become weak, and now look: you've lost her. How terrible. What will you do?"_

"I'm not angry." Ranma grumbled, his eyes growing dark. "She deserves to be happy."

"_Shouldn't __**you**__ be what makes her happy? Is it truly necessary for her to seek…outside interference?"_

"She **deserves** to be happy…I can't give her 'that' kind of love…"

"_Heh heh heh heh…"_ Ranma shuddered and put his hands over his ears, as if it could help _"You can't block me out, Ranma. I know __**everything**__ about you. I know what you think, what you feel…__**everything**__…you want to __**kill**__ Ken, don't you?"_

"NO!" Ranma whimpered. Why was this happening to him? What was this thing?

"_No?"_ mused the voice _"Ah…you don't want to kill __**Ken**__…you want to kill __**your**__**mother**__…don't you?"_

Ranma growled angrily and hit his head a few times, making the voice stop. He looked around him and found his mother had already gone upstairs and had not even roamed into the dining room to see the flowers. He sighed and waited for the voice to perk up again, but thankfully it didn't. With another heavy sigh he then went up to his room for bed.

The voice didn't bother him for the rest of the night.

AN: haha, yes , a different approach. But it will all make sense later. Oh yes, it will. :D Please, comment, critique. TELL me what you think! Good night, darlings.


	6. Chaptire 6

AN: Aha, next chapter. Whee! So, how is life? How are you enjoying my story? I hope you are enjoying it to nearly an orgasmic state. Because I am. Hahaha. Well…I'm taking a bit of a different approach to it…different from what I had before….but I believe it will be ten times better than what it would have been. Soon I will begin the reconstruction of the previous chapters. And then I will be worshiped! HA!

Enjoy:

Chaptire six: New Wind Approaching

The sun shone brightly through the open window, into the bedroom and directly onto the bed. Botan groaned sleepily and rolled over, turning her back on the sun only to be disappointed with the reflection of the mirrors on her closet. She sat up and looked at the clock. 12: 05 p.m.

She'd overslept on purpose. She was silently punishing her son, as immature as it may seem, she was just too angry with Ranma to speak to him at the moment. With a disgruntled sigh she got out of bed and walked to her bathroom, desiring nothing more than to brush her teeth, shower, dress and go out. She would have to wear a disguise, and would more than likely have to put up or ignore the whistles and calls of the horny human men, but it wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before.

After she had showered and dressed, and put on her long dark brown wig and blue contacts, Botan grabbed her purse and went downstairs. She frowned slightly as she noticed her keys weren't in her purse, and realized she must have left them in the kitchen the previous night. As she passed the dining room, something caught her eye.

A bouquet of bush pink peonies, and snow white baby's breath, it had been so long since anyone had given her flowers. Actually, the only person who had _ever_ given her peonies was…

With a shake of her head, she rid herself of the memory and began to read the card. Ranma's words touched her and she felt as if her heart would break. More than likely, he had wanted to give them to her in person, but she had not given him the chance last night. A sudden wave of guilt swept through her and she felt extremely foolish. She was acting like a child, no wonder Ranma treated her like one.

Deciding to make things right, she tore off her wig and set her purse down and walked into the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves. She was going to cook Ranma all of his favorite foods. When he came home, _she_ would be the one asking for forgiveness.

Ranma walked into the school that morning feeling utterly defeated, his mother had not been awake that morning. He had to grab a cheap pack of rice balls for breakfast from the convenience store on his way to school. But his stomach still growled with hunger, and he wouldn't be able to eat again until twelve thirty. He glanced at the clock above the teacher's desk: it was only 7:30. He growled and thumped his head on the desk several times until he was dizzy, both from hunger and a headache.

The Urameshi twins and Kazuma watched him idly. "What the hell is wrong with _him_?" asked Yuki confused, receiving just as confused shrugs from the other two.

"M-maybe we should go talk to him?" Kazuma said slowly, Yuki glowered at him.

"That would be smart, yeah. Because we SO want to be his friend, 'Zuma. Maybe, when we become best friends forever, he'll braid our hair! Oh, oh and THEN, he can start dating your sister! Wouldn't that be lovely? Oh I can just picture, it holidays in Morocco, wouldn't that be delightful?" Yuki rolled his eyes and punched Kazuma in the arm when finished ranting "USE that gushy pink thing between your ears, Kazuma."

Yuji sighed and looked away from them, and gazed at Ranma's back. Ranma was different, that was for sure, he was quiet and kind and handsome, and certainly had a mean side. But there was something else about him that was altogether…sad. As if he held all of this knowledge and all of these secrets but nobody to share them with. Now that Yuji thought about it, nobody had ever seen Ranma around town, or out with anyone.

Yuji didn't even think Ranma had a girlfriend, or a boyfriend if that's what his style was…a slight flush crept upon his face. What if Ranma really was gay…? Would he ever pick someone like…"Yuji?" Yuki's voice suddenly snapped Yuji out of his daydreams, the bell had just rung and everyone was filing to their seats before the teacher walked in. "What's with you?"

"Nothing." Yuji said quickly, dismissing his brother's odd stare "Just sit down and finish copying my homework before the teacher comes in!"

It was nearly ten o'clock, the class had gone outside for gym and the guys were playing baseball. The boys, along with all the other classes, were divided into two teams. Yuki and Kazuma were put on the "B" team, while Yuji and Ranma were on the "A" team. However, Ranma had complained of not feeling well and was sitting out in the dugout, much to the rest of the team's disappointment. Ranma was the star player, both pitching and batting, of the school.

Yuji took the chance to learn more about Ranma without the interference of Yuki or Kazuma, by faking a slight injury and being sent to the dugout. He plopped down on the long, blue bench a foot between him and Ranma, who had his eyes closed. Yuji cleared his throat in attempt to get Ranma's attention, but to no avail. Instead he spoke, "So…"

Ranma still didn't open his eyes, but Yuji continued "…Do you think 'A' team will get slaughtered without you, Ranma?" Still no answer, Yuji sighed and scooted a bit closer, and with only a few inches between them, Yuji's heart was racing a bit. "Uhm, Ranma…?" He gave Ranma a tentative pat on the shoulder, he flinched violently and fell off the bench.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ranma bellowed angrily, Yuji gasped and turned red.

"I am SO sorry, Ranma!" He said worriedly, helping the other boy up. "I didn't think you would—"

"I don't remember giving you the fucking permission to touch me!" Ranma snarled, jerking his hand out of Yuji's helping grasp "Don't you **ever** do that again, got it?" Yuji furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, face still apple red. Ranma glared at him and sat back down, crossing his arms over his chest.

Yuji sat down again, sure to keep a foot away again, he kept glancing at Ranma. The looks didn't go unnoticed "WHAT?" Ranma snapped, Yuji nearly jumped a foot in the air.

"Sorry…" he mumbled "I just…I was just wondering if you were okay…"

Ranma gave him a questioning stare "I'm in the dugout and not playing, right?" Yuji nodded "Then why would you ask such a stupid question?"

"Well, because…"

"Let me guess your brother manipulated you into checking if I was ill so you could get me while I was dow—"

"—I thought we could be friends." Ranma gave a small gasp and stared at Yuji, who had turned an even brighter shade of red. "I'm not like my brother, we're twins but we're total opposites…I have no interest in being the 'toughest' guy in school."

Ranma could only stare in shock, something like this had never ever happened before. Nobody had ever asked him if they could be friends, everyone always acted as if they were friends. But Ranma had never considered anyone a friend, they were…unnecessary. "I…" he stuttered "I, uh, I don't know…I don't really—"

"Well, I don't expect you to become my friend all of a sudden." Yuji informed, his crimson color was fading "I just thought maybe we could hang out or something-"

"Where…did this come from, suddenly?" Ranma cut in "you've never really spoken to me before. Your brother is the one who always did, mainly talking smack, but still…" Yuji gave a small laugh and ran a hand through his black hair.

"Yeah." He said awkwardly "But I guess that's why I'm starting today. I noticed that you hardly ever talk to anyone, I mean, girls talk to _you_ but you hardly ever talk back…and I also noticed you weren't feeling well today, and I don't mean just physically—"

"I'm not a nut case." Ranma said placidly, staring straight at him, Yuji chuckled again and shook his head.

"No, I mean like you have something on your mind, but you don't have anyone to talk to about it."

"Oh." Ranma replied, sitting back against the wall again and closing his eyes "Yeah, I guess you're right." A comfortable silence passed, during which Yuji took the opportunity to gaze at Ranma as he had done in class so many times before. But sitting behind the mysterious, red eyed boy Yuji Urameshi had only gotten to know his _back_.

"I guess…" Ranma said after a moment, opening his eyes and pushing back his hair "We can…go hang out or something. But…I don't want this getting out. I mean, I normally stay out of eyesight from everyone around town. I don't need that 'get off my turf' bull crap. That's not my scene." Yuji laughed.

"Yeah," he said "I understand. My brother gets that way sometimes."

"**He** especially can't know." Ranma informed a bit menacingly "If we're friends, then we share stuff…or whatever, right?" Yuji nodded "Well, then, as _friends_ you can't tell him anything I tell you. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Yuji smiled again and was about to speak again when gym class was dismissed and they were sent back to class. Since Ranma and Yuji didn't participate, they didn't need to change and went ahead of everyone else back to class. On the way, however, Ranma slowed his pace and began to slump against the wall.

"Ranma!" Yuji exclaimed in surprise, rushing next to him he held up the other boy before he could fall "What's wrong?" Ranma snorted and shrugged him away.

"Nothing…I'm just hungry and tired." He informed, straightening back up and gaining balance "Didn't sleep well last night and I haven't really eaten since yesterday morning." Yuji gave him a concerned stare and said nothing until they were in the classroom again, where he pulled out a fat, round meat bun from his lunch.

"Here, you can eat this until lunch time." Ranma gave him an odd look "Ha, ha. It isn't poisoned or anything. My mother made it for me…I don't think she would poison her own child." Ranma took the meat bun and smirked.

"I don't know, these days mothers can be pretty psycho. You never know." Yuji laughed and shook his head, Ranma took a huge bite of the given meat bun after thanking his new-found friend. Due to lack of proper food for the past day and a half, it was the most delicious thing in the world. He could taste the flour and the moist meat, it was still warm.

Yuji couldn't help but laugh before he sat back down as the rest of the students filed into class. The day seemed to pass by quicker and before either one of the boys knew it, lunch had come and they were up on the roof together eating, talking about different things. Laughing at the stories Yuji told about his brother and father, it was the first time Yuji had heard Ranma laugh, or even smile. It was a warm and gentle smile, although Yuji didn't know it, the smile belonged to his mother.

It was a smile that very few people had ever seen, even Yusuke and Koenma and almost all the other Spirit Detectives had seen it. "What about you, Ranma?" Yuji asked after one particular funny story where Yuki had fallen down off the trampoline and into a huge pile of wet mud.

"What's that?" Ranma asked, taking a swig of his drink.

"Do you have any funny stories of family members doing funny stuff?" Ranma chuckled a little and looked out the roof gate at the people below.

"Nah," he said after a moment "It's just been me and my mom since I can remember. We never really did anything funny like that…although one time my master had been training me and some other guys when he farted and accidentally dropped a load in his pants." They burst into laughter and after a moment, when they had settled down again, Yuji realized he had just been told something nobody else knew.

"You had a master?" He asked.

"Yeah, my martial arts master." Ranma replied "I've been training since I was…four or five. I don't remember now, it's been a long time." Yuji nodded slowly.

"So, you have other friends from your martial arts class?"

Ranma shook his head "No, after a year of training twenty people he chose only six of us to continue the training. We aren't really 'friends,' we're just teammates."

"Teammates for what?" Yuji asked, but Ranma dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

"Not important." The bell suddenly rang and he started walking to the door "But let's go back to class." And as they walked back to class Yuji couldn't help but feel much closer to Ranma than anyone else at the entire school.

At the end of the day Ranma had slipped Yuki his cell phone number and was on his way to the flower shop to return his filled out application. Although he did feel a pang of guilt for the fake name, "Ranma Wu K'ung" but it was for his mother's protection. Even if she was mad at him, oh. The thought kind of stung him a bit and left him feeling numb for a long time. He was still numb when he walked into the flower shop where Kurama was standing alone, flipping through a book behind the cash register.

"Hello, welcome—oh!" Kurama smiled brightly as Ranma walked in with a smile "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks. How are you?" Ranma replied, eyeing Kurama's long hair, it was sort of fluffy.

"Swell, thank you, we were pretty busy today, actually." Kurama was still smiling "How did the flowers work out?"

"Oh," Ranma started, he had almost forgotten "They worked great thank you so much. They were awesome."

"Good!" Kurama stowed away his book behind the desk as Ranma handed him the application. Kurama glanced over it for a few moments and then stowed it away "So! When can you start?"

Ranma's eyebrows went up in surprise "Uhm, what? You're just going to hire me? Just like that?'

Kurama nodded "Just like that. So, when can you start?"

"Oh, uh, tomorrow after school, if you—"

"Great!" Kurama stepped around and began to show Ranma all that was supposed to be done. Feed the plants, water them, go to the back, and do the same. "And I will show you how to use the cash register tomorrow, first hand, it's easier that way."

"Right." Ranma nodded and smiled a bit "So, I guess, the uniform—"

"Oh, yes…" Kurama pursed his lips "Well, just wear a white shirt, black pants and I will give you an apron. But that's it."

"Okay, then." Ranma was in a slight state of shock, it was moving a bit too fast for him. He made his first real friend and now he had a job. What a freaky day. And when he went home, he was hugged by his tearful mother who apologized a hundred times, and had him sit down and eat to his heart's content. She kissed him and thanked him for the flowers before he went upstairs to shower and then go to bed.

He was standing under the faucet with his back facing it, letting the hot water cascade down his toned back. Allowing it to run over the now healed over scars from countless fights and battles he had fought years before. But they weren't on his mind, what _was_ on his mind was Yuji. He had been so nice to him today.

It was weird. Not a _bad_ weird, it was a _pleasant_ weird. Ranma chuckled a little bit and began to wash himself, still thinking about his new friend. As he washed his abdomen he wondered if Yuji was well-built like him. He knew Yuji did martial arts, he had heard the Urameshi twins complain about it in class.

Suddenly his phone rang and Ranma nearly jumped a foot in the air, he reached out of the shower blindly, searching for his phone which had skidded out of his thrown clothes and almost near the door. He got out of the shower, naked and slippery and answered it before the very last ring. "H-hello?"

"Ranma?" came the voice on the other end "It's Yuji."

"Oh, hey!" Ranma replied, attempting to sit on the sink but slipping because he was still wet "What's up?"

"Nothing, I got a chance to get away from Yuki so I thought I would call…I didn't call at a bad time, did I?" Ranma glanced at the still running shower and seriously contemplated calling him back.

"No, it's alright. I'm not busy." He lied

"Oh, okay, well…" Yuji started "I was wondering if maybe we could do something after school tomorrow…Yuki is spending the weekend at Kazuma's house, since it's the weekend."

Ranma sighed "Aw, man, I can't I have work."

"Oh, that's cool. Where do you work?"

"Oh it's just a small place near my house," Ranma didn't want to go into details too soon "Why don't we just go _during_ school?" Yuji almost gasped on the other end.

"You mean _skip_ school?" Ranma chuckled a bit at his answer and told him yes "But won't we get into trouble?"

Yes, they would have gotten into trouble; Ranma had been any normal student. However, because of Ranma's high status, he had easy access in and out of the school at any time with no questions asked. He could simply say his mother needed him for a small emergency and leave for the rest for the rest of the day to spend at the arcade or wherever he felt like going. He could also have another student "escort" him and the other student wouldn't have to worry about anything either. These were just a few of the small perks that came with being "perfection"

When Ranma informed Yuji of this he was still a bit hesitant, but soon remembered that it had been a while since he'd had a day off at school. And Yuji was certain that his parents would understand if he said he was helping out another student. There would not be any problem with that. And so it was agreed, the two would stay for an hour before Ranma decided he wasn't feeling well and asked to go home, and Yuji, being a good student, would offer to walk him home.

After they hung up, Ranma finished his shower in the now cold water and then went to bed. He stared up at the ceiling, only slightly tired, and thought about his day. It had been a very odd day, very odd indeed. And he was sure the next day would be even odder, for there was a new wind approaching. And it was coming fast.

AN: Yes, a bit of a long chapter, but I think it works out lovely, don't you? Yes,I am definitely taking a new approach to it. A very new approach, indeed. Hahaha. SO! For the agenda of the next chapter: I have decided that I HATE Ranma's emo hair style, therefore I am giving him a hair cut.. Yep. Mainly, he will be cutting those hideous bangs. They were cute in 9th grade before Emo took over, but now—they are ickie. Yay! Rejoice, rejoice, hallelujah blah blah blah…

Review please.


	7. Chaptire 7

AN: Ah, I see you liked my last chapter. Very good. I am happy for myself. Yes, I am. What? What about you? You don't matter…Not at all…haha. Just joking my little darklings. Of COURSE you guys matter! Where would I be without readers? Nowhere, that's where! Yep yep! Ahahaha. So…Rave the other day. That's what I was busy doing so I didn't have time to update the other chapters…I'm sort of lazy, so I don't think I will…think I might just add a bit of insight from the others point of view…like Hiei's. That would be wonderful Kurama's too. Yeah, that's what I will do! Whee!

Moving on: I would like to thank all the readers, those who have come back and those who are entirely new to the story. I am very grateful to you all giving this story a chance, even though I made the lovely little Hiei act like an asshole…I mean _more_ of an asshole than normal. AND DON'T TRY AND DENY IT, because we love him for his asshole-ness. Anyway, yes…a bit of yaoi-ness is being weaved into the plotline. But the hardcore stuff won't be happening…yet. Haha…maybe not at all but I really have no idea where my mind will travel, because believe you me it HAS been traveling. To the Rave, to the techno music, to the sexiness of a Sanzo and Goku from Saiyuki pairing…Yum, Sanzo and Goku…

Enjoy chapter seven: Old and New Memories

When Ranma woke up the following morning he was extremely happy to come down stairs and find his breakfast waiting for him, hot and ready on the table. He was even more delighted to find his mother had packed him an extra large lunch for the day, despite him not really needing it due to the fact he would be skipping school, but the gesture was welcomed. He noticed that Botan had moved the flowers to the breakfast table.

"They'll get more sunlight that way." She answered his silent question "That and they are so lovely to look at, really, darling thank you." Ranma smiled and ate the last of his meal before grabbing his back pack, which was packed full of casual clothes, and kissing her on the cheek.

"You have work today, right?" Botan asked as she stood and followed him to the door. Ranma nodded and adjusted his heave bag. "Well, then, have a good day and work hard!" She kissed him again and shut the door as he left. She watched him walk away through the window blinds and once he was out of sight she sighed and gathered the dishes.

She glanced at the beautiful bouquet once before walking to the kitchen to clean the dishes. It really had been a long time since anyone had given her such a beautiful bouquet. The last person to ever give her flowers so lovely had been Kurama. A smile crept onto her face as she remembered Kurama. He had always been a work of art, no matter what form he was in.

It hurt a lot to not be able to see him again. After all he had been the reason Botan moved to the Human world, so that they could be together. He was the one who suggested she come, they had been in love, and Kurama had planned to ask Botan to marry him. But she just couldn't face anyone after that horrible night.

When Botan had found out she was carrying Hiei's child, which she had conceived by force, she just couldn't face life. She had even contemplated suicide, abortion even. But she just couldn't do it. How many tiny baby souls had she ferried in the past, most of them were aborted babies who never got the chance to live life. She wasn't heartless, she was scared and scarred.

But despite Hiei raping her, she absolutely could not tell anyone and ruin his friendship with everyone. Besides, wasn't it partially her fault?

Botan furrowed her brow at this thought, not because she disagreed, no she agreed completely. She just couldn't find an example of how it was her fault.

She shook her head and continued her reminiscing. It wasn't like Hiei to do anything like that, a major reason she never told. So she just did the most logical thing: she ran away. She abandoned all her furniture and books and bolted right to demon world, where she knew of clans of demons who would care for her and her child, at least until she could figure out what to do.

And they did take care of her and Ranma, so well did they care for them that they stayed until Ranma was four, although she did take him back every week to train with the Martial Arts master, Master Yu.

It was thanks to Master Yu that Ranma had his powers well developed and nearly fully awaken. Master Yu had kept Ranma in check, being the only other person who knew who Ranma's father was. Master Yu had taken a blood vow to never reveal Ranma's father to anyone, instead he made sure to train give Ranma the best training he had to offer.

"I can't allow the child to suddenly burst into self-conflicting flames when he is older, now, can I?" Master Yu had said to Botan when he offered to start training Ranma. "The child is four years of age, now, and he has already showed immense strength that none of the other children could ever dream of having. I know that with the proper training, Ranma can become the strongest demon to roam the three worlds."

Botan had been surprised at this. She knew Hiei was strong, but she didn't think _their_ child would be even stronger than Hiei himself. It was a bit hard to comprehend, the strongest demon in the three worlds? "Isn't that a bit…far-fetched?" she asked a bit staggered.

Master Yu had laughed and shook his head "Not at all, my dear Botan, not at all. I believe that in a year's time he will be ready for his first demon palace tournament." Botan had gasped at this and he gave her a polite smile "However, I will not do such a thing for several years to come. I will place him in a group of several other demons who are as close to his power as possible and then I _will_ send them to the first tournament."

And he had. Ranma was seven years old and had come in second place in a small tournament. She had been so proud of him, but he was utterly disappointed and had given her a glimpse of Hiei's antagonistic side. "That match was rigged, mother." Ranma had growled, thrusting an angry finger at the judges.

"Dear, you did so well!" Botan had said giving him a supportive smile, he dismissed it and demanded they went home. Master Yu told her later that the match had actually been rigged, but to let it go.

"The child will get his vengeance later in life by winning more tournaments." Ranma did win several tournaments, and only last year did his winning streak come to an abrupt halt when he accidentally killed the referee. But he wasn't going to allow that to stop him, those were only solo tournaments and in a year and a half another tournament would begin and he and his teammates would compete. This summer he would be going back to the demon world to start his training again.

He was so strong, in every way. A thought suddenly occurred to her: If Hiei had not violated her and she had married Kurama, would their child be as strong as Ranma?

Botan decided she didn't like that question and she finished washing the dishes. Why worry about the "What if's" when she was living in reality?

* * *

Ranma had always been a brilliant actor, ever since he was a very small child. And he knew this from the very first time he ever told a lie, and he remembered it very well. He was seven, and he and his teammates were in the tournament about to begin the semifinals. Ranma had decided to get a breath of fresh air so he walked outside and bumped into a strange man. He was tall, with brown hair and light brown eyes. And for some reason, he had a baby blue pacifier in his mouth.

Ranma thought this man was very weird, _very _weird indeed. When he had pointed this man out earlier in the stands to his other teammates and Master Yu, Master Yu demanded none of the boys speak to him. And they all had promised they wouldn't.

But how could Ranma resist when the weird man was standing right there in front of him? However, there was no need for Ranma to speak up first, the strange man spoke instead. "Hello, young man." He said with a smile, Ranma eyed him suspiciously before replying.

"Hi." The man smiled and walked towards Ranma who never even flinched. What was there to be afraid of?

"You're very strong." The man said as if it were news to the young demon.

"I know." Ranma replied brusquely "If I weren't I would not be in this tournament, now would I? You should put that brain of yours to use, mister." A tick twitched in the man's forehead. Not very many people would dare to speak to the Prince of the Spirit World like that.

"Point taken," he said placidly "I do believe I will heed your words."

Ranma smirked ruthlessly "Now you're using it." The man opened his mouth vehemently but stopped himself. "You're weird looking, why do you have a pacifier in your mouth? You know what? I don't care, you're probably some type of pedophile who wants to rape me and then discard my body for ravenous animals to devour." And with those last words Ranma left the man standing there in shock.

When he walked back inside Master Yu caught him in the hallway. Ranma bowed politely and stayed with his head arched beneath his master's vigilant gaze. "Were you speaking to that man, Ranma?" Ranma straightened up.

"What man, Master?" he asked innocently.

"The strange man with the pacifier in his mouth." Master Yu replied, catching Ranma's eyes.

Ranma thought for a moment, if he said yes he would get into trouble. And if he said no and they found out later he would be in even more trouble. But how was anyone going to find out the truth? So Ranma did what he thought was the best thing to do, "No, Master Yu." He lied.

And he had never gotten caught. So it was a lot easier to lie to the school and say he wasn't feeling well and that he would be going home. It was even easier to say that Yuji Urameshi would be escorting him home and would stay there with him until Ranma's mother came home.

The principal was happy to allow it and gave Ranma a pat on the shoulder and wished him to get better soon. As the two boys walked out of the school, Yuji kept looking over his shoulder as if someone were following him. Ranma noticed and merely smiled.

"You shouldn't get so worked up, Yuji." He said "You had permission to be off campus, so there isn't any way you can get into trouble." Yuji went a little pink.

"But if my parents see us in town—"

"We'll lie and say you're making sure I get home safely." Ranma informed with a smirk. "It's not a big deal, so don't worry." Yuji forced a smile, but was still a little wary and kept an eye out for either one of his parents while they were in town.

They first went to one of the most expensive restaurants in town, Yuji was sure that his parents wouldn't be there, seeing as they couldn't afford it. When the two boys walked in, Ranma went ahead of the long line of waiting customers; they glared and said nasty words as they walked by.

"Uhm, Ranma, I think we have to wait in line…"Yuji started, uneasy.

"_They _have to wait, but _I_ don't." he smiled as they approached the host who immediately grabbed two menus and bowed politely to Ranma.

"Two this afternoon, Mr. Death?" The host asked as he ushered them to a table in the middle of the restaurant. "And how is your mother?"

"Fine, thank you, Hoshino." Ranma replied politely as he sat down and took the menu. Yuji thanked Hoshino and glanced at the menu, there weren't any prices he gave a small whimper as he saw the prices weren't listed. Yusuke had always said the most expensive restaurants never had their prices listed.

"Ranma, I don't think I can afford this—"

"Which is why I'm paying," Ranma said offhandedly from behind his menu "Tell me what you think sounds better, Escargot or chicken flambé?" Yuji set his menu down and stared at Ranma who put the menu down to stared directly at him for an answer. "What's wrong?"

Yuji went slightly pink "First of all," he said quietly "I have **no** clue as to what 'iskargow' is and secondly, I don't want to be a mooch!" Ranma blinked and put his menu down.

"Escargot is cooked snails, they are really good when properly cooked." Ranma said seriously, he went back to scanning his menu "But I think I'm in the mood for something else today. What are you going to get?" Yuji stared, dumbfounded. Ranma had just completely ignored the second part of what he said.

When Yuji didn't answer, Ranma looked over his menu again and smiled "Don't worry about it, this place doesn't even put a dent in my allowance, no matter how many people I bring. And besides," He snapped the menu back up "We're friends."

Yuji couldn't think of anything to say, despite his mind reeling with the thought of "Holy crap, I might be in love."

They went to the arcade, where Ranma beat the high score on all of the popular games-including the racecar simulator. It was sort of weird seeing Ranma acting like a normal kid, Yuji had always thought Ranma was the type to do random things: like fly to different countries and read books about the world's deepest secrets. Yuji wasn't _disappointed,_ he was just…surprised and slightly…turned on…

A scarlet blush crept on to his face and Ranma gave him a worried look. "Are you getting sick or something? Your face keeps getting all red."

As the day ended, Ranma and Yuji headed back over towards the center of town. Where Yuji told Ranma he would call him later in the evening and they each went their separate ways, Ranma towards work and Yuji towards home.

Yuji walked into the house and noted that Yuki's and Konrad's shoes were already in the doorway. He sighed and walked into the family room where his brothers and his parents were waiting. "Hi." He said timidly. Nobody answered him.

He sat down next to Konrad, who was buried in a new book, "What are you reading, Kon-"

"Where were you today, Yuji?" Keiko cut her son off, staring at him piercingly.

Yuji smiled awkwardly and shot a glance at Yuki, he had told them Yuji had been out with a weird kid from school. "I…helped a friend home, is all. He wasn't feeling very well and his house was kind of far to walk alone, so I offered." Yusuke gave a glare like daggers at Yuki, and then turned his angry gaze to Keiko.

"Yeah, so much for the _Good Son_ robbing banks and having wild orgies." He snapped.

"**YUSUKE!" **Keiko gasped heatedly, Yuki snorted and started laughing.

"Whaat?" Yuji stared between his parents, flabbergasted. "You thought I was going to an orgy?"

"Your _mother_ did, Yuji." Yusuke sniggered. "When your rat of a brother came home saying you'd skipped school with some freaky kid she went off and freaked out saying you were probably off robbing banks, gang banging the main chain and having massive orgies in someone's house that you broke into."

"I did not say he was 'gang banging the main chain.'" Keiko snapped huffing away into the kitchen "Yuki, get upstairs and take your shower."

"Before dinner, Ma?" Yuki moaned as he stomped up the stairs to his room. Yuji turned towards Konrad, who was still buried in his book, but his ears had turned red. Apparently, he had thought Yuji _was_ out "gang banging the main chain" Whatever the hell THAT meant. Yusuke grinned at Yuji and motioned for him to sit down.

"Konrad, beat it you nerd." Yusuke said quickly, as cruel as it may seem, that was a sort of saccharine form of love for his youngest son. Konrad didn't move his face from behind his book and went up the stairs, knocking into a wall on the second floor. "Watch where you're going!"

" 'M sorry…" Konrad mumbled before continuing down the hallway. Yuji smirked a little and then turned back to his father.

Yusuke gave him an identical smirk back, before leaning close "Were you with a chick?" he whispered. Yuji's face went pink and he suddenly found himself very interested in the carpet.

"No, dad." He replied "I wasn't with a girl."

"Look, I know you're lying about the 'walking a friend home' bull so you can stop right there. I know my own bluffing face, even though your mother and brothers don't." Yusuke chortled and sat back against the leather chair "Were you with your…boyfriend?"

"**DAD**!" Yuji exclaimed standing up, his whole body now a lovely shade of scarlet, Yusuke laughed again and pulled Yuki back down.

"Come on, son." He laughed "I'm not a retard, I figured that you didn't like girls, so I thought-"

"This is **not **proper father-son talk, dad!" Yuji whispered furiously "I don't want to discuss my sexuality with you!"

"Well, do you wan tot talk to your **mom** about it?"

"**NO**!" Yuji was severely angry at this point and wanted nothing more than to back out and take a jog. "I don't want o discuss this with you or mom or anyone, so, don't send any Yuki or Konrad to ask me either."

With those final words Yuji began to storm up the stairs "Well, what about Kurama?" Yusuke called after his son, who only groaned and continued. Yusuke flinched slightly at the slam of the door and then sighed. "He's gay."

AN: So, the end of this chapter. Haha, did you like it? I enjoyed writing it. I liked the ending, wasn't that silly? I'll post the next chapter either sometime on Thanksgiving or the Friday after. Maybe Saturday. It just depends on how sleepy I am from eating so much turkey. So! Everyone, please continue to review, and please spread the word of this lovely little fanfic. I feel the need for spreadation. Haha. NEW WORD! IN YO FACE! Haha.

Happy Thanksgiving, darklings.


	8. Chaptire 8

AN: Ahaha, another wonderful chaptire…did any of you xxxHolic or Tsubasa fans notice that I used the word "Chaptire" instead of "chapter"? Yeah…well, if you didn't peessah-on you. Haha! I listen to too much techno, yes. I am severely surprised at myself for finding the time to write these chapitres since I have been PARTYING my ASS OFF. I'm a college student, now. Aren't I allowed a _little bit_ of partying? Ha! "little bit" my behind. Everyday this week starting from…Saturday night. Man, I am TIRED. And yet, here I am: 3 am. Writing. Why? Because I LOVE it. That's why. Duh. Ahaha. And the DAMN GREEN LITTLE SQUGGLY LINES ARE ANNOYING. You guys can't see them, but I certainly can. Word sucks…haha, word to your mother…YOUR FACE. YOU MOTHER'S FACE. Oh. Burn. That was cold. Somebody call the fire department, Jessy's ON FIRE! You know I was thinking about the narration for my story, and I was thinking the ideal person to do it would be Jim Dale. You should SO check him out.

So Aside from my ramblings: I would like to, again, thank all of you for reviewing (and to those who reviewed…twice, thank you thank you!" Whee! Haha. Anyhoo! The story, the story, where the HELL am I going with this story? Well, I am certainly NOT taking it to Hell with me. No effing way. It's too freaking GOOD to be dragged down there, yeah. Lucifer would be like: "**IT BURNS US! IT BURNS US! YOU DAMN GRIM REAPER!" **(Oh, yeah, that's ME btw) "**THE STORY IS TOO GOOD TO BE DOWN HERE, TAKE IT AWAY, TAKE IT AWAAAAAAY!**" And I'll be like "your MOM…" Haha, yeah. Stick that up your ass and fu-….read the story.

Chaptire 8: The Flowers that are Bruised

Hiei watched amused as Kurama and the new worker bustled around the flower shop, with Kurama giving out his instructions at a very quick talking rate. Hiei was sure the boy would be extraordinarily confused by the end of the tour. He would have interrupted Kurama to tell him to slow down but he was just having too good of a time watching them.

At one point, Kurama stopped talking about the specific food and watering types each plant had. "Now, did you get all of that?' Hiei snorted and Kurama shot him a threatening glare before smiling back at Ranma.

"I…think so." Ranma replied, furrowing his brow he repeated everything Kurama had said, word for word. The other two demons stared aghast at the young boy. "Is that completely wrong?"

"No…actually…that's completely…_right_." Kurama said softly, the shop then erupted into a clamor of silence. After a few awkward moments, Ranma gave out a hearty laugh snapping the other two out of their trances. Kurama gave his head a small shake and continued showing Ranma around the store.

Hiei however had furrowed his brow. Ranma's laugh…had sounded so familiar. It had sounded exactly like…Botan's. Memories began to flood Hiei's memory, memories of the last time he had seen Botan. It wasn't like Hiei could just _forget_ what he did; his nightmares wouldn't allow him to do so. And they atoned for his sin.

He remembered everything from that night. He had always been _slightly_ attracted to the ferry girl, her ignorance was…somehow cute. He felt that she, like his sister, needed to be protected from a distance. However that was not the only reason he stayed away from Botan, the main reason was because she belonged to Kurama.

Though Kurama didn't express it greatly during the years as a Spirit detective, Hiei could tell. It wasn't until during the Demon tournament that _everyone_ noticed, but it was left unspoken. They were trying to keep it hidden from Koenma. If that imbecilic prince ever found out, Botan and Kurama would know his wrath, due to the fact that the stupid jerk was a very jealous person.

So Hiei had left his feeling lay dormant, and hid them away, because the last thing Hiei wanted to do was lose his friendship with Kurama. Until the night a horrible little voice had spoken. Botan had just moved into her house in the human world, and Kurama had announced to Hiei that the red head and the ex-ferry girl were a couple, and Hiei had forced a "congratulations" to the both of them.

"_Aw, dear Hiei, you know you don't mean that._" The voice had chortled in his mind, Hiei ignored it figured his conscience could go to Hell. "_How will you feel when the two get married? Hm? Will you still want me to go to hell? Will you forever deny yourself the carnal pleasure you want to rip out of that beautiful and innocent body that is Botan?_"

Hiei frowned and told himself to shut up before he realized he was flitting through the trees in the direction of Botan's new home. He stopped suddenly and let out a yelp of pain. His pores screamed in protest of the rapid stop, and would not cease pain until he began to run again. "_Didn't she nearly tell your sister the secret you have been hiding or so long? Don't you believe she should be…__**punished?**_"

He tried to ignore the voice and kept running until he arrived at his body's destination: a tree outside of Botan's room. He watched with pierced eyes as Botan came upstairs, undressed and disappeared into her bathroom to take a shower. "_What a beautiful body she has…_" the voice mused. "_She is so ignorant: she de-clothed in front of her window through which anyone could be looking. She should be taught a lesson._"

He shivered a little and felt those carnal desires begin to awaken, despite all his better judgments. This was wrong, this girl—_"This woman"_—was Kurama's woman—_"Whom he is ashamed to claim, to express his love for"—_

"SILENCE." Hiei hissed, hitting his head, he felt the stirrings for Botan again as the voice mentioned her naked body, wet and pale in the shower.

_"She probably even left the window unlocked…"_ And Hiei felt his body respond to the voice's statement, he jumped onto the balcony and opened the windows, letting in a breeze that filled the room. He could smell the fragrance from the bathroom, the door was slightly open. He walked to it and stared inside, there she was, letting the hot water cascade like a waterfall down her perfect body.

_"You should claim her." _The voice encouraged _"She's right there, waiting, __**asking**__ to be taken."_ And after a few moments, that's what Hiei did. When she came out, he took her. The voice was silent the whole time, and he felt that he was finally doing what he had always wanted. He was not only claiming her as his own, he was punishing her and teaching her to not be so foolish and ignorant.

When he had finished violating her, he had left her in a horrible state. Bruised and beaten both mentally and physically. Once he was back at the temple the repercussions hit: he had **raped **her. He had corrupted her innocent body and had forcibly **stolen** her chastity. And for what? For a bit of pleasure? Because the voice in his head had _told_ him to do it?

"What wrong with me?" Hiei breathed, he was so ashamed, so stupid. Part of him demanded he go back and apologize and offer to do anything for her, to try and make amends. But the other half told him to ignore it, she had gotten what was coming to her. If he hadn't done it someone else might, no- would, have. And the latter had won. He waited and left it alone, when the day came for everyone to head in separate directions Botan had never shown up. Kurama was concerned, she wouldn't answer the door when he went to her house, and she changed her phone number.

"I don't understand it, Hiei." Kurama had paced back and forth on her front door step a few days after the Spirit Detective's last meeting. "Why doesn't she answer?"

"Don't be such a pansy, Kurama." Hiei snapped hiding his own concern "Just break the damn door down. We've wasted enough time out here." Kurama bit his lip and stared at the closed door.

"You're right." He said gently "I think…I will." He picked the lock instead and the two walked inside to find the place thick with several weeks' dust. It appeared that she had bolted; leaving nearly everything, save for some photos and clothes. All the food was gone, too (unbeknownst to them she donated it all to the homeless shelter).

For a long time after that, Kurama and the others looked for her, but to no avail. They still continued to look, but less and less. They came to the conclusion that she would come back when she was ready. Kurama grieved for so long, and Hiei had come very close to telling him everything. But the voice in his head had stopped him from doing so.

It was several years until Botan finally appeared as an up-an-coming author of fantasy and romance novels. She often wrote stories about the Spirit Detective's adventures. But when Kurama and the others tried to contact her they were only turned away. Apparently, Botan never wanted to see them ever again. Kurama slipped into a deep depression after that.

He refused to eat sometimes, and was up till the wee hours of the morning pacing around the house. When his mother died, everyone thought Kurama was going to kill himself. But he only remained shut up, refusing to take pleasure in life. Then one day he just sort of…stopped. He was suddenly happy and friendly again, he even opened the flower shop. However, Hiei knew it was only a front to mask his true feelings of sadness, regret, remorse and pain.

"Now can you repeat **everything** back to me?" Kurama's voice snapped Hiei back into reality. Ranma laughed again and repeated everything, he glanced at the clock as he spoke. The shop would be closing soon and he could go home and call Yuji.

After an hour or so, he left waving a hand to Kurama and Hiei. "The kid has skill." Hiei mused, turning towards Kurama who was wearing a slight scowl. "What now?"

Kurama didn't respond forcing Hiei to repeat himself "What?" Kurama gave himself a shake "What did you say, Hiei?"

Hiei cocked an eyebrow "I said Ranma has skill."

"Oh, oh, yes he does. Very skilled…" He was blinking rapidly "But…his laugh…" The last part was barely audible, in fact, Hiei wouldn't have heard him if it weren't for his hearing abilities.

"So you noticed it, too?" Kurama glanced at him and nodded.

"It brought back so many memories…" He gave a heavy sigh and slunk onto the stool next to Hiei "I miss her so very much, Hiei." Hiei was silent, this was the first time Kurama spoke seriously about her in a while. "You know…I haven't gotten over her. I still think about her before I got to sleep and when I first wake up."

The 14-year old knot in Hiei's stomach tightened as Kurama continued to speak about his beloved. "If I could only see her again, in person, just _once_—"

"That's enough, Kurama. The more you talk like that the less you sound like a man." Kurama gave him a hurt look and sighed.

"I suppose so." He said softly before gathering his coat and closing up the shop. When he and Hiei went their separate ways for the night and Kurama was at home he changed out of his clothes and went straight to the shower.

He turned the water on cold and stood there for a long time, letting the water run over him, freeze him, numb the horrible bruised feelings he'd kept for so many years. It seemed the only thing that could help him was the water, the freezing water that only lasted for a short while.

When the shower was over, Kurama knew he would feel good for a few minutes and then those feelings would come back ten times worse. Tears stung at Kurama's eyes and they were lost with the shower water as they ran down his face. It seemed that the only women who ever mattered to Kurama were gone now, and he would never see either of them again.

That fact broke his heart and soul into a million pieces and he couldn't stand it. There were times he would try and get Botan off of his mind and forget her, but there were so many memories. And even if his _human_ part could be done with her, his _yoko_ part wouldn't. To his full demon self Botan was his life-mate, his one and only his _property._ And to let go of her meant she was dead.

Kurama and Botan had been together for a very long time before the demon tournament, but that was the first time Kurama's demon part had laid eyes on her. Kurama had wanted to show her his power first hand, and when he did Yoko-Kurama had fallen in love just like he had.

Yoko Kurama claimed dominancy over the gorgeous ferry girl and told her she was forever his, and she accepted. She had smiled and kissed him, she told him she would never leave him and would stay by his side no matter what.

Kurama growled in frustration as he though "To hell with **that** promise." He thought miserably "She didn't stay…" When the red-haired man began shivering he got out of the shower and didn't even bother to dry himself. He lay down in his bed, naked, and thought about Botan. More tears began to form and he bit his lip, recalling Hiei's words.

"Why can't she come back?"

Yeah, ok, crappy freaking chapter, but whatever. It will be better next time around., thanks people, I wub u


	9. Chaptire 9

AN: Soooooo…..Yeah last chapter kind of sucked, but it was needed to make this next chapter which is going to blow the chicken Mcnugttets right out of your happy meal. Yep it's going to be that freaking wonderful. You know it will be. I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving…I hope you all got nice and fat and round with turkey. Because I know I did. But I made sure to limit myself this year so that I didn't get sick and throw up like LAST year. Whoo, that was embarrassing. Haha.

Now, I appreciate all of your reviews, thank you so much for giving this story a chance. You don't know how much time I spend putting into this. Yeah, I think about this story all freaking day. So really, thank you. bows respectfully while holding up a middle finger Sorry, force of habit.

Please enjoy chaptire nine: The Old Dragon's Flame that was Yu and His New Protégé 

When Ranma arrived home after work he was delightfully surprised to find Master Yu and his new protégé, Jessy Wu K'ung, the charming daughter of Sun Wu K'ung, the Monkey King. At only nine years old, she was Master Yu's new star pupil due to not only being part goddess and her royal status but also to her colossal strength and abilities. She easily ranked equal to Ranma.

Her father had been too busy to train her himself therefore he sent his darling daughter to the best demon he could find, Master Yu. Jessy was small for her age, with beautiful golden eyes and long dark brown hair that stuck up in odd places because she inherited her father's spiky hair. She had tan skin and resembled her father so much many people believed she was his _son. _Her father, on the other hand, believed she was mistaken for a boy was because she had his boyish charm.

Whatever the reason, she was perceived as one of the strongest demon gods in all three worlds, despite her age. There was no mistaking that, boy or girl, she was The Monkey King's child.

She smiled brightly as Ranma walked into the living room, "Ranma!" she exclaimed happily, jumping into his arms like a monkey.

Ranma smiled and twirled her around a bit, making her giggle. "What is my little monkey doing here?" he asked, Jessy laughed and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.

"I'm no monkey!" She laughed happily as he set her down and bowed to Master Yu.

"To what do I owe the honor, Master Yu?" Ranma stayed bowing until Master Yu allowed him to stand. Master Yu smiled and looked over the young demon.

"You've grown tall, Ranma." The old man declared "And strong, I am proud." Ranma bowed again and smiled, he glanced at his mother who was offering Jessy a large cookie. Master Yu followed his eyes and gasped "Oh, no, dear Botan!" He pulled the cookie out of Jessy's grasp before she bit into the cookie.

"Aaaaaw!" she whined, Master Yu cocked an eyebrow and handed the cookie back to Botan.

"The King has decreed she should not have any sweets while not in his presence." Ranma winced a bit, he knew very well what happens when the little monkey girl has sweets, so yes, it was a good enough reason to become a law.

"Oh, I see." Botan smiled at the young girl and instead offered her a glass of milk before disappearing into the kitchen with Jessy at her heels.

Ranma stared back at his master, he still looked the same. Thin and tall, with long white hair that fell down his to the middle of his back, accompanying his hair was a long white beard. His deep brown eyes pierced thorough all of this white as if they could read minds.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, before Master Yu finally answered Ranma's earlier question. "I am hear for several reasons, Ranma." He said softly, Ranma knew what was coming, he felt a lump in his throat form "The first reason is that I would like to remind you that training for next years' tournament will be started earlier than originally planned."

Ranma blinked rapidly "May I ask why?" Master Yu stole a quick glance towards the closed kitchen door.

"Because," he said softly while leaning forward "The Princess will also be competing this year." Ranma frowned.

"But doesn't that make one extra? There are already five of us who compete, with a Dahlia as the back up."

Master Yu sighed "Dahlia has died, I am afraid along with Homino." Ranma gave an exasperated sigh. Dahlia and Homino weren't very strong but they were part of the team, they were…important.

"How?" he asked after a moment, Master Yu sighed again.

"The man who killed them is unknown. But they were two of many demons, no one really cares for them." He suddenly looked tired and aged. "That doesn't include me, they were two of my pupils and I care for every one of them as if they were my own children." Ranma gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder and they sat in silence for a moment before Master Yu spoke up again. "Ahem, yes. The second reason I am here is because of the Princess, as well."

"Oh?" Ranma asked, stealing another glance towards the door, how long did it take to get a glass of milk?

"Yes, and I have already spoken to your mother about this." Master Yu replied, taking a sip of his tea "And she has already agreed to it." He took another sip before setting it down and folding his hands on in his lap "You see, the King has been busy and will be even busier, for what, I have no clue. Whatever the reason, however, she will have to find a place to stay while I am not training her."

Ranma's eyes widened "You don't mean—"

"Yes, Princess Jessy Wu K'ung will be staying here with you." Ranma sat in shock. Yes, he cared for the little girl as he would for a little sister, but she…she was more of a handful than anyone he had ever met before.

"But will mother be able to care for-"

"Oh, of course she will." Master Yu cleared his throat and let the news sink in. The princess, who didn't act like a princess, would be staying in their home for over a year. Ranma wondered how it would work, since she was a demon and wasn't used to living on earth, or even demon world. She was adjusted to the lifestyle of Heaven.

Parties, games, and people to look after her 24-7, and do Gods even sleep? And if the was there, wouldn't she have subjects and friends coming to visit? "Oh, no." Ranma breathed "Does that mean her father—"

"Will drop in from time to time? Yes." Master Yu answered, Ranma groaned a bit and the old master chuckled "Yes, I understand. The King can be…difficult at times." Difficult…that wasn't even a quarter of what described the Monkey King.

The King was brilliant, funny, strong, beautiful and an altogether amazing God-Demon. However, the King loved to party, and he loved to show off his strength. Sometimes, however, he didn't _know_ his own strength and would unintentionally destroy things. Ranma had seen the Monkey King in person only once, at the birth of Jessy.

When the tiny girl had been born, he proudly walked around with her in his arms, showing her off to anyone who would listen. Ranma heard he also carried several pictures of her and would parade that to everyone and demand they tell him how cute and perfect she was.

Ranma shuddered. The king was nice, but he wasn't sure if he and his mother could handle the King and the Princess's…energetic lifestyle. The decision had already been mad, so Ranma pushed it to the back of his mind.

Master Yu's face went sullen suddenly and began to speak. "Ranma," he started "There is also another reason I am here." Ranma gazed at him "I would like to know what happened at the previous tournament."

Ranma swallowed and chose his words careful before replying "Well…" he said slowly "I…killed the referee…by accident." Master Yu's hand came in contact with the side of Ranma's head, he saw stars.

Ranma blinked rapidly, holding his head. "I ask again, Ranma: **What happened at the past demon tournament?**" His voice was threatening and strong, and Ranma knew it well. He knew he was in trouble, he knew the old Dragon Master knew the truth.

Ranma gave a small groan as his vision completely returned, his mind was reeling "I accidentally-"Another smack to the head, this time it was harder. So much harder, in fact, that it knocked Ranma off his feet and onto the floor, he hit the side of the coffee table. He yelped in pain and held the large gash above his eye. Master Yu stood up and pulled the young demon up by his collar.

"**Tell me again.**" Master Yu snarled, Ranma groaned again and glanced at the kitchen door, he hoped they stayed there.

Ranma's master came into focus and he groaned "It was an acid-" he was cut off as Master Yu's fist came into contact with his jaw, forcing him back against the window, knocking down the curtain rod and smashing a vase in the process of sliding down. Ranma screamed and stumbled up, rocking a bit. "Master, I swear…" he sputtered as blood spilled from his mouth "It was not pre-meditated! I-"

He was thrown against another wall, this time he smashed into the shelves that held his mother's crystal. He screamed and held his head, he say blood, there was only red. He heard someone walking towards him, Master Yu was glaring at him. Ranma whimpered and stared down at his hands, he pulled a shard of what was once a crystal bowl form his arm. He moaned as Master Yu pulled him to his feet again.

"This isn't pleasant for me, child." He said gently "But it **is** necessary, until you tell the truth. Now tell me, the truth. I do not wish to hurt you…or your mother's things." He winced slightly at the shards of broken objects scattered throughout the room.

Ranma gulped and immediately regretted doing so, blood was definitely not a pleasant thing to swallow. He eyed the master from his left eye, blood ran down his right and smudged his view. He was in a very painful position, both physically and mentally, he knew that by continuing to lie he would more than likely be killed. But he also knew that by telling the truth he would also get into trouble.

He chose the latter "I killed her on purpose!" Ranma sputtered wincing at the pain that shot up through his jaw from moving it. Master Yu dropped him to the floor where Ranma gasped at the pain and fought for air.

"I'm sorry I had to do that, Ranma." Master Yu said gently "However, the Monkey King knew the truth and demanded you speak your crime in order for his daughter to remain here for the next year. He does not take lightly to the murder of innocents. Your mother has been informed of this already. She understands, Ranma."

Ranma choked on his own blood but remained silent. "She has forgiven you, although I don't think she will forgive me for destroying her living room." He glanced around and gave a heavy sigh, he finally stared at Ranma. He helped the boy to his feet and sat him down on the couch, Ranma made no effort to move, he only groaned in pain.

There were very few people in this world who Ranma allowed to hurt him, Ranma could easily have fought back against his master but the obedient disciple inside of him wouldn't allow it. There was a bright flash of light and everything was back to normal, save for the bruises and cuts to Ranma's body.

Master Yu was a very skilled man, he had the power to turn the time on non-organic objects. The glass and porcelain were pieced back together, the wood, another story, and the blood had merely been wiped away.

When Botan and Jessy came back into the living room, Master Yu stood and bowed respectfully. "Well," he said pleasantly, as if nothing had happened "I must be off to inform the King that his princess has been delivered." He smiled "Ranma, training will begin in two weeks. Please do take care of the princess. I am sure her father will be dropping by soon. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" Jessy said softly walking Master Yu towards the door "Tell Daddy I say hello, and tell him to write me! And to feed my animals! Oh and make sure he doesn't forget to be nice to Jade Prince, and be sure that he doesn't go into my room! I have his birthday presents in there oh and—"

"I think he's gone now, Jessy." Botan laughed, Jessy pouted and followed Botan back into the living room where Ranma still sat, immobile. She plopped down next him and stared. She knew what it was like to be hit so hard, she knew that a demon's body was much less tolerant than that of a god's body. With a sigh she patted Ranma's leg and told him it would be ok.

"You can tell the kids at school that your mommy beat you up." She said receiving a sharp tap on the head from Ranma, who was now back to reality. "Ooooowie! That hurt! Maaan, your hits hurt like Sanzo's…" Ranma snorted and stood up, struggling.

"Are you going to be alright, dear?" Botan asked, steadying her son "Maybe you should go take a bath?" She was used to seeing her only child comeback from Master Yu with bruises and cuts and broken arms, so she knew how to help her son feel better. Ranma nodded and headed towards the stairs, fighting cries of pain with every step.

Jessy sighed "Daddy can be really mean, sometimes."

After Ranma was out of the hot shower, he wiped the fogged up mirror and almost thought he was blind, but realized it was just his wet hair obscuring his eyesight. Hr grunted and pushed his hair back which immediately fell back into place with a slight flopping noise. With another angry groan he pulled out the scissors from the drawer and stared at them.

They gleamed dully in the bathroom light, and without another moments' hesitation Ranma began to cut away. Chopping at the long bangs little by little before moving on to the rest of his hair that had always stuck up in odd places very much like Jessy's. His hair was a lot thicker and longer than he had thought it was, and it took nearly an hour to do it. He had made sure to be careful so he didn't end up bald.

He stared at himself in the mirror, his hair was not in full blown, natural, thick spikes. His bangs, which had hidden his bruises, were now completely gone and their place were lovely spikes that stuck straight up. He was going to proudly wear his bruises and scars like a man.

The next morning when Ranma came down stairs, Jessy choked on her food "What the **heaven** happened to your head?" she snorted, Ranma cocked an eyebrow and smoothly rapped her on the back of her head. Botan only smiled and rubbed his head.

"Oh you look so nice!" She declared, they ate their food in silence, save for the random choking sounds Jessy made when she swallowed without chewing properly. When Ranma stood up to leave for school Botan handed him two lunches.

"Uh, mom-"

"Would you mind walking Jessy to school, too, dear?" Ranma's jaw dropped and he stared at Jessy who was already wearing her shoes and backpack. She smiled ruefully and grabbed her lunch from his hands. Ranma turned back to his mother who only smiled "Well, you couldn't think that King Goku would just let his daughter stay here without letting her get a proper education, could you?" Ranma made an impatient noise but went ahead and walked with Jessy outside.

"So, apparently…"Jessy smiled "I'm your cousin!" Ranma rolled his eyes.

"Right."

"I won't get into trouble, Ranma." Jessy continued "But I won't let kids push me around either. Daddy says people aren't supposed to touch me." Ranma groaned. It was going to be a very long year.

AN: Yeah, so I hope you enjoyed it. I thought this chapter was gunna be better: I WAS WRONG.


	10. Chaptire 10

AN: So what's up my little darlings? I hope you are doing well. I haven't been feeling too hot lately but it's alright. I'll get better eventually. But for now I feel like dootie, maybe that's why the past couple of chapters have BEEN dootie. So whatever, deal with it. Again, than k you for sticking to the story, I am so grateful to you. Now, from the previous chapter: I said "He stared at himself in the mirror, his hair was not in full blown, natural, thick spikes. His bangs, which had hidden his bruises, were now completely gone and their place were lovely spikes that stuck straight up."

What I meant to say was "He stared at himself in the mirror, his hair was **now** in full blown, natural, thick spikes. His bangs, which had hidden his bruises, were now completely gone and **in** their place were lovely spikes that stuck straight up." So yeah, I really couldn't type the other night and like I said before, I have been feeling really crappy. I'm getting sick and I really don't feel like doing anything. But whatever, life happens. The end of the semester is coming up, holidays are approaching and I still have no boyfriend. Gag. SO!

Back to the story and reel in from my crappy social life: Yes, I HAD to put myself in the story. I had to add an original character to make it funny! And yes, I am giving slight hints to Saiyuki—but it is also from the book Journey to The West, which is why it's "Sun Wu K'ung" and not "Song Goku" although I did mention his name once or twice. So, there, that explains that crap.

Please enjoy chapter nine: The New Roses Have Grown and Now They Are Dead.

**THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A LINE BUT THE CRAP TAKES IT OUR SO THERE IS NO SEPARATION**

Botan Death sat at her desk, racking her brain for the next word she would use to complete one of the many sentences of chapter seven in her latest book. She continued to ponder on what word she should use, she wanted a word that would strike fear into the very reader's heart. A word that described pain at its worst, however she was finding that difficult due to the fact that her editor, Ken Saotome, was currently screaming bloody murder on his cell phone.

"NO!" He bellowed "How many times must I say it: **SHE WILL NOT DO A BOOK SIGNING!** You may _send_ the books you want to have signed to **me** and I will get them to her! Is that fair? Yes, I believe so. The price is ten thousand—"

"Three thousand yen," Botan cut in not looking back at him, although she could practically feel his eyes boring into the back of her head "I want it to be affordable. Not everyone is wealthy, Ken. Give me a word for a lot of pain…"

"Botan Death" Ken muttered before returning to his conversation on the phone. After several more minutes of arguing, debating and negotiating, Ken finally yelled "GOOD DAY" and hung up. Botan turned around to stare at him, his face was red and slightly blotchy, she smiled and stared up at him.

Ken was a very handsome man, he was tall and thin and had a very young and delicate face for the age of forty three. Why he wasn't married, Botan could not figure out. He was kind and sweet and knew how to take charge of an uncontrolled situation. He had short, black hair, and grey eyes which he hid behind his glasses. His smile was kind and warm, yet cruel and cold at times as if the man were hiding a very dark secret. But it was very rare that Botan actually saw that smile. In fact, she had only seen it once a very long time ago when a rival author committed suicide.

But that smile was in the past, and Botan had never thought about it or noticed any odd behavior after that. What she _did_ notice was that Ken Saotome was a highly attractive man and since it was now mid October, he would begin to strip his extra sweaters to reveal a thin, form fitting shirt and nice slacks, he was a VERY attractive. He noticed her gaze and he smiled.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Botan." He said softly "But you know how the bookstores are when it comes to hit authors like you." Botan giggled and sighed, she leaned her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. A moment passed and then she felt Ken's soft hands running through her hair, pulling it down from the ponytail she normally wore it in. Another sigh escaped her and she leaned into his hands.

Ken smiled and leaned over to kiss her forehead before he rested his own forehead there. They stayed in that position for a while, reveling in each others warmth. "Ranma would be angry if he knew about us." He whispered, Botan groaned and sat up.

"I know." She sighed "But he'll have to deal with it."

"He hates me." Botan said nothing to this and instead fell back into her book writing, thankful for any distraction from the truth of Ken's statement. But it wasn't just Ken who Ranma loathed, no, he hated _anyone_ who threatened their happy life together. She knew she was his mother and she should have control over her own life, however she also knew that if Ranma was angered he could flip and leave her completely. He had the power to do so, and he had places to go.

Botan thought about what would happen if she and Ken actually told Ranma of their relationship. She could imagine it now: Ranma's face would pale, he would clench his fists tightly and turn away from them. They would try to console him and he would lash out, and scream. He would yell at Botan and demand to know why his love wasn't enough, why she couldn't just be his mother and his friend. He would demand to know why she insists in ruining everything. And he would bolt; he would throw down his cell phone and probably break random objects as he walked out of the house.

He would leave his mother calling after him in the dark, and he would stay away forever because that is just how he is. With these thoughts buzzing in her head, she completely lost her train of thought. She made an impatient noise and closed her laptop. "I can't do this anymore." Ken looked up from the magazine article he was reading on the couch.

"What did you say, love?" he asked.

Botan smiled, she loved it when he called her that. It reminded her of the times when she and Kurama were together. "Let's do something!" she said suddenly "I'm bored." Ken smiled and asked her where she would like to go as he grabbed his car keys.

**THIS IS ANOTHER LINE BECAUSE THE THINGIE STILL SUCKS AND STUFF…YEAH, BABAY YOU KNOW IT!! **

Ranma left Jessy at her school, giving her specific instructions on how not to draw attention to herself. He could only hope she would heed his words. He dreaded having to take her to his job after school, since his mother would be at a meeting with the publishers.

As Ranma walked through the hallways of his school, the students stared at his new hairstyle but mainly his fresh cuts and bruises, though nobody dared to ask what happened. When he walked into the class room he was mildly surprised to find Yuji already in there. He was sitting atop Ranma's desk, gazing out the window with glazed eyes. He was obviously still asleep.

"Good morning" Ranma greeted quietly, they were the only ones in the room, but Ranma worried if he spoke too loudly Yuji might jump right off the desk. Yuji blinked and lost the glazed stare as he turned towards Ranma.

"Good morn-**what** **happened to your head?!**" Ranma frowned and nudged Yuji off his desk.

"Why does everyone keep saying it like that?" He muttered, Yuji furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it. Instead, he ran his hand through Ranma's spiky new due for a moment.

"Where did you get this hair cut?" he asked.

"Nowhere, I did it." Ranma replied, Yuji's mouth formed into a perfect "oh."

An awkward silence passed, during which Yuji fought the urge to just start hammering Ranma with questions. "What happened?"; "Who did this to you?"; "Why did you butcher your hair?" and "What's wrong?" But he knew the answer to every one of these questions.

"Don't worry about it" That's what Ranma would say, but Yuji would worry about it. It would be what distracted him for the rest of the day. Up until lunch time rolled around, for which the two boys went to the roof for, Yuji made sure to slip out unnoticed by his brother.

They sat in silence for the first half of the lunch period. Yuji kept throwing glances in Ranma's melancholy corner, who would rub his head and then wince from pain but obviously lost in thought. Finally, when Yuji could stand the silence no longer "What's on your mind, Ranma?" he asked.

Ranma seemed to snap from a trance and blinked rapidly before his eyes focused on his friend. "What did you say?"

"I asked you what you were thinking about." Ranma snorted and looked away, walking toward the wire fence of the roof.

"Nothing, don't worry about it." He replied, of course Yuji knew that would be his answer, but it did not mean he had to live with it.

"You'll feel better if you tell me what's going on." he said slowly, Ranma whipped around and pierced him with a warning stare, but the stubbornness Yuji Urameshi attained from his father would not allow the young boy to be intimidated "My dad always feels better when he gets stuff off his chest. Sometimes he takes it out on Yuki…but it does help." Ranma snorted again.

"Well," he snapped "I'm not your father, am I?" Yuji didn't reply, he allowed the patient side of his mother take hold for a moment. Ranma could feel Yuji's eyes on his back, expecting. It was an odd sort of feeling, like someone who could nag the paint off the wall. It continued to build up as the silence continued until finally he could stand it no longer.

"My master came over last night and he was angry with me…well, my uncle was angry with me so he somehow convinced my master to 'teach me a lesson' like some sort of atonement for my sins." Ranma said quickly, his face going red as he turned to face Yuji "My uncle is a powerful man, he's like a fucking priest, no, a God would be more appropriate. He can have this power over you even if he's not around and you have only ever met him once. He leaves this incredible impression on you that's comforting and warm, and sincere and angry and strong at the same time. And it isn't like I couldn't fight back because I knew I was being punished! The whole time he was throwing me around I kept thinking 'I'm glad my mom isn't in here right now.' At the end of the whole beat down my master stands over me and says that the beating is from my uncle.

"AND—to top it all off—my little cousin, my God-like uncle's child is staying with us for a year! Do you know what that's going to be like? Do you have any fucking clue what she's like? She's just like her father only with less self control therefore she's FIVE times more destructive. Oh, but that isn't the BEST part, no no. The BEST part is that she and her dad are so attached to each other he will be dropping by every now and then, and when Goku drops by all HELL breaks loose because YOU NEVER FUCKING KNOW WHEN HE WILL SHOW THE FUCK UP! AND IN THE MOST RANDOM PLACES! I could be upstairs MASTURBATING and the door will fly off the hinges and you'll see the GOD walk in 'OH HELLO RANMA! OH MY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU AT THAT AGE ALREADY?! WOW, THAT MUST BE AMAZING! I REMEMBER MY TEENAGE YEARS! I LOVED IT! DO YOU LOVE IT?' And I know this happens because he did that to THREE of my team mates! AND THAT'S GOING TO BE MY NEXT YEAR! LA-DEE-FUCKING-DA!" Ranma ended with a scream, nearly purple in the face, breathing heavily. He gasped slightly with each breath and stared down at Yuji, who just sat there with his mouth open slightly.

After several moments, Yuji cleared his throat and Ranma went pale, he had just given WAY too much information. "Well," Yuji started gently "I can sympathize, my dad has walked in on me while I was having a…'moist' dream…and he yelled about it to all of his friends about it, so I get all of these safe-sex talks." Ranma blinked and smirked "Your uncle's name is Goku?" Ranma rolled his eyes and sat down next to Yuji.

"Yep." He sighed "And my cousin is named Jessy." Yuji nodded.

"And the hair?" Ranma smirked.

"Do you like it?" Yuji's face went pink and he nodded, Ranma smiled pleasantly "I cut it because I felt it was time for a change." Yuji chuckled and continued to ask questions, attempting to avoid staring at Ranma's good looks for too long.

"I…thought you said it had only been you and your mother for as long as you can remember?"

"Goku and Jessy aren't really related to me." Ranma explained "Jessy is only nine, so I was there for her birth and that's where I met her dad. But he's always known my mom, so that's why he's my surrogate uncle."

"Ah, I see…" Yuji nodded "Why didn't he become a surrogate father?"

Ranma snorted "Yeah right, Goku is barely a father to his own kid. He won't have time for another person's child. In fact, he's so busy he pawns the girl off on people who will care for her. She was with our master because he volunteered, and now that the Master has become busy as well, Goku used _us_. And mom just couldn't say no. Poor kid, she's thrown around like a doll, no wonder she _looks_ like one." Yuji chuckled, and then the two sat in a comfortable silence for a long while. The young Urameshi was grateful that Ranma felt comfortable around him, and he hoped their friendship grew stronger as the time went by.

And so it did, as the months went by, October turned into November and November turned into December and almost suddenly, it was winter break for Sarayashiki Junior High. Yuji had been given the pleasure of meeting Ranma's cousin and mother and spent almost every weekend at their house. The two boys were nearly inseparable and had become very close, although Yuji still didn't know Ranma worked at Kurama's flower shop.

It was about ten in the morning on a Saturday during the winter break when Ranma came downstairs to find Jessy sitting at the breakfast table alone, watching cartoons on the new television while snacking on rice cakes. She was currently on her eighth one. She didn't look at him as he walked in and sat down next to her.

"Good morning," she said dully "Botan had to leave for a little while, but she left some food on the stove for you." Ranma blinked and stared at the rice balls, as if reading his thoughts "These are mine. I made them myself." Ranma blinked again before frowning, he had slept in due to being in the demon world training until four in the morning, and Jessy had been there with him.

"What time did you wake up?" he mumbled.

"Six." Jessy replied, finishing her rice ball and moving for another one "Gods don't really need sleep, we mainly do it out of habit from being human." Ranma frowned again.

"You were never human." Ranma put in.

"But Sanzo was," Jessy snorted "And he sleeps all the freaking time…he says he's meditating…but I've heard him snore."

Ranma pondered on this for a moment "Your dad sleeps a lot, though. Almost all the time and he's never been human."

"Daddy actually **is** meditating." Jessy licked the rice off her fingers "Besides, he's a king." She furrowed her brow angrily "He can do whatever he wants…like dump me on Master Yu for four months and then have him leave me **here** for two and a half…" She turned towards Ranma who was slowly waking up.

"I haven't seen my daddy for over half a year now!" she frowned again and grabbed another rice ball "He probably doesn't even know what today is…" Ranma yawned.

"And what **is** today?" he asked from behind his hand.

Jessy didn't answer for a moment, she only chewed for a long time "It's my mother's birth day. I've never met her and even I know." An awkward silence passed and it took Ranma a few minutes to comprehend what Jessy had just told him. She had never before mentioned her father in a derogatory manner and had never even acknowledged she had a mother, Ranma had wondered if she even knew she had one.

"Well," he started "your dad's a busy person. He's coming to the tournament—"

"In six months. If I don't see him before then—it will have been a year. He would have missed **my** birthday, too." Jessy said sadly "Daddy isn't busy…he's **selfish.**" Ranma blinked rapidly again, he had no idea what to say. Jessy pushed the plate stacked with rice balls towards him and stood up.

"I'll go warm up your food." She said walking towards the kitchen, she stopped just outside the sliding door, hand on the screen. "You know," she said over her shoulder "you're real lucky to have a mom who pays attention to you…imagine how much better it would be if you had a **dad** that was the same way…even if he was a step-dad. I'd totally envy you, Ranma, even more than I do now." And with those final words she walked into the kitchen and shut the door behind her.

Ranma sat at the table, his feet under the warm blanket, staring at the closed door. "YOU'RE SO EMO TODAY!" he shouted "ARE YOU ON YOUR PERIOD?" a plate of cold food flew through the sliding door and smashed into the wall just behind Ranma's ducked head.

"GO TO HELL!"

**Another line for the special people in this super special awesome world! Hooray for people who read! **

After cleaning up the food and broken shards of expensive, eighteenth century china given to Botan by the Jade Prince as a house warming gift, Ranma called Yuji and invited him over. Yuji stood against the kitchen counter on the house phone, talking to him. Yuki glared at his twin brother from the kitchen table, but when Yusuke caught the fierce look he slapped Yuki over the head without a word.

Yuki clutched his throbbing head and hissed, Yusuke continued eating. "Dangit, dad, that freaking hurts!" he snarled glaring at his father with tear-filled eyes. "Why do you only hit me?"

"Because you're the only one who acts like a little, fucking girl, Yuki, now shut up, eat your food and quit staring at your brother." Yusuke snapped, Yuki sneered and Yusuke pulled his hand back again but his son began to eat. "That's what I thought, you ungrateful little brat."

"**Yusuke!"** a four-month pregnant Keiko gasped as she walked into the kitchen with another plateful of food for her husband. "I've told you not to call Yuki that!"

"I only tell the truth to our kids, Keiko." Yusuke said offhandedly, pecking her on the cheek as Yuji hung up and rejoined his family at the table. "Who was that, Yuji?"

"Oh, that was Ranma." Yuji replied "He wants me to go over there, is that alright?"

"Yeah, sure that's fine." Yusuke answered "Just finish your food first, then you can go. Do you want a ride?" Yuji nodded and dug into his lunch once more.

"How come you never invite him over here, darling?" Keiko asked.

"Because he's a freak." Yuki put in, Konrad came into the kitchen to the sound of Yuki getting smacked over the head again. "DANGIT, DAD!"

"Shut up or I'll hit you again, you little brat. Konrad, you nerd, why are you up so late?" Yusuke asked, receiving a slap on the arm from Keiko.

"Don't call him a nerd, Yusuke!" she said angrily.

"Well-"

"Its fine, mom, really." Konrad smirked "It's a lot nicer than what Yuki calls me anyway." Yusuke snorted as he and Yuji finished their meals and walked out of the kitchen as the sounds of Keiko smacking Yuki over the head started. Yusuke grabbed his car keys and coat and walked out to the car with Yuji behind him.

Yusuke warned him about the ice before they took off in the green SUV. They sat in silence for most of the ride, the octagon picture frame hanging from the mirror spun distractedly as they drove. "So, really…" Yusuke started slowly when they were halfway to the house "How come I haven't met your friend yet?" Yuji took his eyes away from the multi-faced picture frame to his father's aged face, his grey streaked hair in his eyes.

"Well, Ranma's family is really private." Yuji explained, eyes averting back to the frame, a picture of Kurama flashed by, then a picture of Hiei, then Keiko before he continued "I'm surprised Ranma ever invites me over…" Kuwabara flashed by before Yukina then Hiei again, then Koenma…

"What are they, in the Yakuza?" Yusuke joked, capturing his son's attention again, they were now a street away from Ranma's house.

"No, nothing like that…" Yuji laughed as Koenma's face flashed by again, before a blue blur went by, a blue blur Yuji had never paid much attention to previously. "I'm actually not sure, what the deal is. I've never even met anybody other than his mother and his cousin who is living there now…her dad is supposed to visit sometime and apparently he hasn't so she's kind of…grouchy. That's why Ranma invited me over today…" They were on Ranma's street now, the blue flashed by again.

They were only a house away now, the blue flashed again, the octagon was spinning. Yusuke hit the breaks and Yuji jerked foreword slightly, the blue picture spun wildly for a moment, Yusuke smiled and said "goodbye." The picture stopped.

Yuji tore his eyes away from his father while opening the door and glanced at the picture. Botan's smiling face and long blue hair were staring back at him from the picture. Yuji's mouth fell open, but he was already out of the car and his father was already driving away.

The front door of Ranma's house opened, he was standing in the doorway, in tight blue jeans, and a black sweater with a white polo underneath, and the collar of the polo sticking out. He crossed his arms in the cold "Get your ass in the house, Yuji! It's fucking cold!" Yuji turned around and faced his friend who was turning back into the house yelling at Jessy "GO AHEAD AND FUCKING TELL, YOU PMS-ING LITTLE MONKEY! GET OFF YOUR FUCKING HORSE AND STOP RUNNING MY ASS OVER! YEAH YEAH, KEEP TALKING WE'RE ALL LISTENING…Yuji! C'mon!" Yuji was silent as he was enveloped in the warmth of the Death's home.

Jessy was standing at the top of the stairs, screaming her head off "DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU BIG POOP FOR BRAINS BOY!"

"YEAH WHATVER, KEEP TALKING MONKEY!" Ranma shouted back "BECAUSE WE ARE ALL SO FUCKING INTERESTED!" Yuji snapped out of his momentary shock and chuckled at the other two, if they weren't cousins and Jessy was about six years older the two would make a really cute couple. "AGH, GO SUCK ON YOUR BOTTLE YOU BUTT MUNCHING BABY!"

"I'M A LITTLE KID AND I KNOW THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE! GET SOME GRAMMAR LESSONS!" Jessy screeched "I WIN THIS FIGHT!'

"HERE! HERE, TAKE SOME MONEY AND GO BY SOME MIDOL!" Ranma threw some coins from his pocket up at Jessy who only rolled her eyes and walked away to her room, slamming the door behind her. "THAT'S RIGHT, WALK AWAY!" Yuji laughed and patted Ranma on the back.

"I think she won, dude." He chortled, Ranma sneered.

"My ASS she did." He snarled, turning away from the stairs towards the kitchen, Yuji followed his friend and thought no more of the picture of Ranma's mother swinging from Yusuke's car mirror. He wouldn't think about it for the rest of the day, until he went home later in the evening to find Koenma visiting from a meeting of the Gods.

**But that is another chapter, all together, boys and girls. Yeah, that's right. I said it! **

AN: Alright, ladies and gentlemen! As always, please read and review. All criticism is welcome—AS LONG AS ITS ABOUT THE STORY AND NOT SOME STUPID GRUDGE YOU HAVE AGAINST ME. Haha. Good times, goooood tiiimes! So, yes the rating of the story has gone up due to…well, this chapter. Haha. Enjoy it!


	11. Chaptire 11

AN: Well…The story is developing very well…in my mind. Haha. Here it goes:

Chaptire 11: The Divine Truth of the Old Monkey and the Old Dragon

Jessy paced across her bedroom floor, chewing the tip of her tongue fiercely. It had been months since she came to the human world, and still no word from her father. No letter, no messengers from Heaven dropped by with an oral message. She wasn't just angry, no, she was livid. It simply was not fair.

Of course she understood her father was busy, he had always been busy. Since she was born there was hardly ever a time when Jessy wasn't being raised or cared for by another God or Goddess. It wasn't that he didn't ever spend time with Jessy, because he did, thus their close relationship.

But he was a very, very busy god.

"However," Jessy thought "That isn't a reason to not send even a messenger to say 'hello.'" She sighed and clapped her hands over her ears as if trying to stop all the thoughts from rushing to her brain. She knew very well that most thought led to actions, and most actions led to trouble. Clamping her hands over her ears did not help.

Because the next thought she had made her very angry, not just at her father or herself, it made her angry towards Ranma, Her surrogate big brother/uncle. "More like my **gay** surrogate big brother." She removed her hands and found an odd noise coming from downstairs. An odd noise she had heard before when Cho Hakkai and the perverted war-god Sha Gojyo were supposed to be taking care of her, when in reality they had just given her food, water and some toys and sent her to another room. It was the sound of two **men** mating.

Well, in this case, two **boys**. "Ick." Jessy thought "In his mother's house?" She frowned and made an impatient noise. It simply was not fair. Ranma didn't realize how lucky he was to have such a wonderful mother who paid attention to him, even if they were hiding from Ranma's father. Botan did everything for Ranma, she went out of her way to make sure her son was happy. And it wasn't with gifts and messengers. It was with love.

And what did Ranma do for her in return? He used his mother's house to go have gay sex in. He left her alone sometimes to go and train or complete missions in the demon world. He refused to allow his mother to have a relationship with a man. He wouldn't let her fall in love, and forced Botan to love in secret. He didn't even realize the increasing numbers of "meetings" she was having these days.

Jessy snorted, Ranma was in for a big surprise when he found out about Botan and Ken's engagement. Jessy wasn't really supposed to know, but she had overheard them the previous week.

When the thought struck her a surge of pure malice swept through her and she was running down the hallway towards Ranma's unlocked room. She kicked the door open and the two boys moved apart. A long string of profanities left Jessy's mouth before she ran back to her room. She began pacing again, a bit frantic at this point. She was angry and frustrated and bored and lonely all at the same time and nothing of the sort had ever happened before. It was like the entire planet just suddenly caved in on her.

Everything was fuzzy and she felt drunk. Or at least, that's what she figured being drunk must feel like. The room was spinning and she was breathing very hard. There was definitely something wrong with this world. "I just want to go **home!**" she moaned, falling to the floor, rocking herself. There were tears running down her face, and the room was suddenly very cold. Colder than anything else she had ever felt.

She fell over on her side and screamed, biting her tongue. She needed something solid, everything was slippery, nothing felt real. Not even the floor felt real. There was something strange going on. There was something or someone trying to pry into her mind. There were soft, barely audible whispers that would reach her. They were so quiet, yet they were so mean. She knew the voice was actually screaming, but because it couldn't reach her they were quiet.

Jessy bit her tongue harder, she tasted copper. The voice was ebbing away. More copper. The voice was almost gone. She screamed again as the voice gave one final attempt to whisper, but she bit her tongue even harder. She was swallowing the golden blood of her soul, the warmth of her blood filled her mouth and suddenly she was back. She was no longer sweating, her breathing was returning to normal and the room was finally stationary.

She got up to her feet, shakily. She threw her arms out wildly, as if she would fall. But she didn't. She furrowed her brow and thought about what just happened. But no matter what she thought of, none of it made sense. She began to pace again, frustrated.

But still, nothing sensible came to mind.

She stopped pacing and stared at the gifts from her father, the ones he gave her before he dumped onto the Deaths. Among the hundreds of gifts was a porcelain doll modeled to look exactly like her father. Staring at the doll enraged her and with a rush of adrenaline she picked up the doll and lifted it to throw it right through the wooden door of her bedroom.

But she stopped short hand and sighed. She gazed at the smiling face of the doll, the golden porcelain shining brightly, it wasn't the doll's fault her father wasn't around. With another sigh she held the doll close and plopped down on the bed, pulling her knees up close to her, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine she was hugging her father. And with all of her tiny heart, she hoped he would show up soon and he would take her home, away from this horrible place.

What she didn't know was that her father, in Spirit World currently attending a meeting of the great deities of Heaven and Spirit World, was also wishing he could see her and take her home. He sat at the enormous, golden table, at the end with the Jade Prince, the former Sanzo Priest, the War God Sha Gojyo and the God doctor Cho Hakkai along one side of the table with the Jade Prince at the head, and several other gods and goddesses among them.

On the opposite side of the table were several Ferry Girls from the Spirit World, several other "important" spirits, Master Yu and at the opposite head was Koenma. Goku was tapping his long fingernails impatiently on the table, his gold coronet shining brightly, he gave an exasperated sigh and looked pointedly at the Jade Prince. "Could we get this show on the road, now, Nataku?" he asked vehemently "I have places to be and people to see."

"As do we **all**, Son Goku." Koenma put in, the table grew quiet and all eyes were on Goku.

The monkey king smiled, feigning politeness "Yes, well, Koenma," He started "I have a daughter whom I have not seen in over half a year and today is a very important anniversary-so if you would shut the fuck up and let the big boys handle _**our**_ business we can be on our way." The Heaven side of the table erupted into laughter, and Koenma went red.

He opened his mouth to argue but Cho Hakkai stood up "Please, if we may allow the Jade Emperor to start?" Koenma glared at Goku who merely smiled.

Nataku (the Jade emperor/prince whatever you want to call him) rolled his eyes and stood up. "Now, I have brought us all together for not only the typical meeting, but also for a grave matter. The matter of the criminal who has been killing Master Yu's students, both former and current, we have discovered that there is a link between the murder victims other than their teacher. And this is what involves not only the human world and the Spirit World—"

"-I thought the great deities of Heaven only helped the other worlds is when it directly involves **them**?" Koenma cut off, nearly all the heads and eyes of Heaven turned crossly towards the son of Enma. He went red and Master Yu cleared his throat.

"As it would appear," he started calmly "This matter _**does**_ involve Heaven. Now if we may-"

"How?" Heaven's deities turned back towards Koenma, several of them stood up.

"Beg pardon?" Nataku said softly, motioning for the others to sit back down.

"How and why does the 'matter' involve you?" Koenma elaborated, crossing his fingers under his chin "As I remember, there have been several other occurrences that have slightly involved you and you didn't raise a hand to help."

"The 'reason,' Koenma," Goku said calmly, standing up and placing his large, hands palm-down on the golden table. His bronze skin glowed angrily "Is unimportant. BUT. As you are a persistent little bug-I will tell you why we are involving ourselves."

Sha Gojyo placed a hand on Goku's shoulder, their eyes met for just a moment and Goku nodded slightly, dismissing the silent interruption "The reason is because me daughter is down on earth in the line of fire. Her life is too much of a risk. I will not allow her pure blood be shed on the now putrid earth. Once it was my home and once my home was beautiful, once my home was peaceful and blissful, once my home was safe to roam on, but now…Now, Koenma."

The silence was thick, Sanzo closed his eyes and sighed "Now the earth is nothing but a brothel for lost souls. We will not allow one of our own, one of our **young**, Koenma, to become one of them." He finished for Goku who turned and gave him a thankful smile.

Koenma slammed his fists down on the table "WHAT?!" he bellowed "A goddess? That is the only reason you are helping? Because the precious Princess Jessy Son Wu K'ung is in danger!? Where were you when the golden seal was stolen? Where were you when-"

"IRRELEVENT!" Kanzeon Bosatsu bellowed standing up along with several of the other members of Heaven "DO YOU NOT REALIZE WHAT THAT CHILD MEANS TO HEAVEN? TO YOU? TO ALL THE WORLDS?!" The table erupted into a clamor of anger, ferries against gods and goddesses. And all the time, Goku, Gojyo, Hakkai, Sanzo, Nataku and Master Yu stayed silent.

They allowed the others to continue to yell for what seemed an eternity and then finally Master Yu slammed his tea cup down with such a ferocious slam the entire golden table shattered into large pieces. The entire meeting went silent. Hakkai cleared his throat gently "Prince Koenma," he started "You do not seem to understand the severity of the situation." Koenma frowned "The fact of the matter is this: even **we** do not know the identity of the criminal."

"We do not know their whereabouts." Said Sanzo.

"We do not know of their class level, their strength their origins, whether they have an army or not…" said Gojyo.

"We do not even know if this person is a human, a demon, a god or any other form of being." Nataku added.

"But we do know this: He is after a certain person, and he is able to control this person's actions. But not only his actions, but his mind as well. And not just **his** mind…" Goku started softly.

"He can control even Hiei Jaganshi's mind." The five said together, causing an audibly gasp to start amongst the members of the Spirit World. Koenma's face paled.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"Even Hiei is unaware of it." Kanzeon Bosatsu put it "We are not sure if he can control a god's mind, which is one reason…"

"We sent my daughter to human world…" Goku said bitterly "As a guinea pig." He swallowed hard "And we are worried…that…"

"Goku." Hakkai stopped him and continued for him, Goku was shaken "We have been attempting to send messengers to Human world, to speak with the princess…"

"And each messenger has never returned." Gojyo stood up "Meaning he can **block** and or **kill** messenger gods. Who the hell knows what else he can do? And to a child no less? If he gained control of the child's mind, he would have access to all the worlds."

"He would also be able to create worlds, bring the Netherworld back, " Sanzo smirked bitterly "Kill all of us, take control…"

"Basically," Nataku said "He would take over the universe. It was a dangerous and stupid risk-" he glanced at Gojyo "-to send the princess to the human world."

The truth of the matter was this: This new enemy had been around for a very, very long time, since before Ranma was born. And the war god Gojyo had known about this. However, being the competitive and intrigued god he was, he allowed the "power surge" he had called it, to roam around and see what damage it caused. He had kept track of the power, but when it gained control of Hiei, Gojyo lost the path.

He allowed Botan to believe Hiei had raped her of his own will, he even allowed Hiei to believe this as well because for a long time the power lay dormant. Btu to be on the safe side, Gojyo persuaded Goku to send Jessy to Master Yu to heighten and develop her strength, in case Jessy's power was needed to fight against this power surge.

When the power reappeared, Gojyo told Goku that Jessy was in danger in both Heaven and the Demon World and that the best place for her to be was in the Human world. That, however, was a lie. Gojyo had only sent Jessy there to be his guinea pig.

And his plan had not gone his way. Luckily, however, Goku was a forgiving god and he told Gojyo he was not at fault.

Gojyo bit his lip and looked away from Nataku, and found the contorted face of Goku, the knot of building guilt twisted painfully. The monkey king was worried about his daughter. They had no idea if she was being controlled or not. They had no idea if she was causing irreparable damage to Human World and no one could detect it.

"Anyway," Master Yu interrupted the awkward silence "I am sure that prince Koenma is curious as to the other connection, besides the victims being my students, between them."

"Oh, yes," Nataku nodded thankfully "The other reason is that all of the victims…were on some way or another deeply connected to a certain…demon who is currently residing in the human world."

"Who is that?" Koenma asked calmly.

"Ranma Death, of course-oops." One of the gods slapped a hand over his mouth as the words left his mouth, he looked worriedly at Goku who glared back.

"Death?" Koenma blinked "Ranma **Death?** _**Death**_, are you sure? Is he related to-"

"Idiot!" Kanzeon Bosatsu slapped the god over the head with her hand "Moron! That child's name is taboo in the presence of the pacifier sucking fart!"

"I'm **sorry**!" the god cried, Koenma slammed his hands on the table.

"DEATH!?" he bellowed "_**DEATH**_?! _My _Death?!"

"Oh, come the fuck off it, Koenma!" Sanzo yelled, chucking a piece of golden table at the prince's head "She isn't _yours_! She is her own, you bastard! When will you get over the fact that she does not want to see you? You'd think you would have gotten the hint when she had your fucking detectives chucked out of that publishing building!"

"You _**knew**_?!" Koenma yelled "You knew where she was?!"

"We know where she **is**, Koenma!" Gojyo yelled "We've known for years! We've known since she left your dumb ass!"

"**WHAT?!**" Koenma screeched, he slammed his hands on the shattered table, cutting his hands "WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OF THIS?! WHY HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING ALL OF THIS FROM ME?! WHERE IS SHE?! AND WHO THE HELL IS-"

"Her **son.**" Goku said softly, all eyes turned towards him "Ranma Death, highest ranking of 'A' class fire demon. So high, in fact, he will be made a God when he passes from his physical form." A thick silence passed around "He is fifteen years old. He will be sixteen this June, a day before my Jessy turns ten." Goku turned his blazing golden eyes towards Koenma.

"You will **not** approach him." His voice was threatening, he stood up and walked towards Koenma, who was pale and shaking "Ranma and Botan are under **my** protection. You will not lay a hand on either of them. You shall leave them alone. Should you disobey me, Koenma, I will wage a war against the Spirit World. I will have all of heaven backing me-"

"And all of Demon World as well." Master Yu agreed standing up, the rest of Heaven stood up.

"Even through this fight against this mind-controlling bastard," Goku continued menacingly "I will wage a war against you and your father and all of your world, believe me, I will. And I will win."

"WE ARE HERE, SON GOKU." Heaven declared. Koenma shook violently.

"Dismissed." Nataku said strongly, turning on his heel and exiting on a cloud back towards Heaven. Goku, Gojyo, Hakkai and Sanzo were the last to leave. Koenma stood there, still shaking, the ferries tried to console him and he ordered them to leave.

Ayame stayed there next to him "Koenma-"

"Even you, Ayame." He whispered, closing his eyes "You need to get back to work, too. I-I will be going to human world to discuss these matters with Yusuke. I will be back soon." And with that he left, still as cold and pale as when Goku threatened him.

BAM

AN: Yeah, so weird chapter. But I think I pieced together a few things…right? Please review, tell me what you think. Remember: Reviews are LOVE.


	12. Chaptire 12

AN: SO, everyone, thank you for reviewing. Reviews are love, after all. Haha, yes, yes I know ht last chapter was pretty confusing…the reason is because it has 2 parts to it….possibly 3. The story line is developing well, and now we know why Hiei did what he did and what that little voice is. Yes, its becoming clear now. Yes, Botan and Ken are "in love" or whatever. That relationSHIT plays a very large role in the story. You'll understand soon enough. Dude, This totally blows, I wish I could freaking play music while u guys read…or even on my profile. WHERE THE HELL IS THE SUGGESTION BOX FOR JESUS!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Yu Yu Hakusho, or Saiyuki characters. If I did, we'd have a sausage fest up in this house, sir.

Warnings: There IS a sausage fest in this chapter. Meaning: YAOI, BABY…

For those of you on mediaminer…it's pretty awesome (POSSIBLY). And for those on sorry, but none for you- Haha.

Enjoy chaptire 12: the second half

Before Jessy won her "battle"

Ranma walked into the kitchen, still fuming. Yuji chuckled and sat atop the bar next to the sink while Ranma gathered food. He kept mumbling incoherent words, every now and again Yuji would catch something like "Stupid" or "Little girl" or "Retarded monkey." By now, Yuji was so accustomed to Ranma's angst and bad attitude that it was almost comforting.

It had been several months since they became friends, Yuji's birthday had passed and Ranma's was soon approaching.

"She's just a child, Ranma." Yuji tried to console "I realize she's a bit…out of sorts at the moment, but like you said the other day, her father hasn't come to see her since she was brought here."

"You mean since she was _neglected _here." Ranma snapped "And that doesn't mean she can take her anger out on everyone else." He slammed down two soda cans on the counter next to Yuji so hard that they exploded, splattering both boys with carbonated orange drink. Yuji coughed and wiped his face with a nearby towel. Ranma growled angrily and threw the demolished cans into the sink.

The two boys went upstairs to Ranma's room, pulling their sopping shirts off. Yuji glanced at Ranma's body, the lithe muscles moving gracefully as he pulled his shirt off. He was like a god, a gay guy's or a straight girl's wet dream: he was perfection. Ranma caught his friend staring, his face went pink.

"What is it?" He asked, snapping Yuji out of his stupor who also went pink. "What are you looking at me for?"

"Oh, no reason, sorry." Yuji averted his face and suddenly found his damp shirt very interesting. Ranma blinked and smirked mischievously.

"You were **checking me out**!" he teased, Yuji's eyes went wide and he shook his head rapidly "Yeah you were! You totally, freaking were! You were checking out my hot bod!"

"I was **not**!" Yuji denied, backing into a corner as Ranma stepped forward, grinning wickedly from ear to ear.

"You were totally thinking about how hot I am!" He continued, slamming his hand against the wall next to his friend's head. It was fun to mess with him like that, even though Ranma knew he definitely was not looking at him…right? "You're a homo! And you want to do me like that song, right? You want to kiss me all over and over and again! TILL THE NIGHT CLOSES I-"

Ranma's eyes widened as he was cut off by Yuji pressing his lips against his. Slim arms wrapped around Ranma's waist and suddenly he was turned into the corner, being made aware of how strong Yuji actually was. Yuji pushed a knee between Ranma's legs, who gasped.

Yuji took the opportunity of the gasp to delve his tongue into Ranma's mouth, it was bliss for the young Urameshi. Being able to touch the boy he most longed for, naked chest to naked chest, mouth to mouth, tongue over teeth, over tongue, lips smashed against lips, heart beating like a drum. But then Ranma pushed him off, gasping for air, fighting him, looking away. Yuji tried to follow the other boy's mouth with his own, but he wasn't allowed, he groaned and pressed his knee against Ranma harder.

Ranma bit his lip and shook his head "Stop," he pleaded "What…what are you doing?" As if he suddenly awoke from a lusty dream, Yuji stopped and blinked, realizing what he was doing he backed away from the smaller boy, flushed and embarrassed.

"Sorry." He mumbled, covering his reddened face with his hands and sitting down to the bed "I'm sorry, I don't know what…" he trailed off and sighed miserably.

Why, why, why had he made such a stupid move? Why had he suddenly found Ranma's teases so arousing? Ranma teased a lot, so why was this time any different? Because he had actually caught him staring? Whatever the reason was, Yuji felt stupid and imbecilic to have possibly ruined their friendship.

Ranma stayed in the corner, staring out the side of his narrow red eyes. "It-it's alright. I just didn't realize that you…that you **actually** liked guys. I was just messing around with you…I didn't know." Yuji nodded without moving his hands from his face.

"Nobody does" came the soft reply.

"Oh" Ranma started "Well…"

"I'll leave." Yuji said, standing up and grabbing his wet shirt from the floor "I'll go home and we won't ever have to speak again. I know that you probably don't ever want to-"

"Don't be stupid!" Ranma snapped, his voice a bit more weak than he'd intended "Of course I want to stay friends. And it isn't that I don't like you like that either, it's just that I…I'm not…" Silence passed and Ranma searched for the most delicate word he could come up with "I'm just not…a virgin."

Yuji stood there, hand on the doorknob, he dropped his wet shirt to the floor "You're not a virgin?" he repeated slowly, receiving a nod "Like…a **gay **virgin?" Ranma nodded "Wha-but-you-you're only fifteen!"

"I was younger and stupid and I would do anything to finish a mission for the shinobi, alright? It's what I was trained for!" Ranma snapped, walking to sit down on the bed in Yuji's former place "And we had this…this guy we were supposed to spy on, and he…well, he was into kids. And I was 13 and I was willing to do anything so we could complete the mission and go home. Well, one night when he was _in the mood_, and we needed him distracted, I volunteered."

"You were a shinobi?" Yuji blinked at Ranma's confession "And you were…thirteen?"

"Yeah," Ranma answered embarrassingly, he went red "It isn't something I like to tell people. But all of my teammates were cool and didn't tell anyone. A couple of them have taken it to their graves, even. I wish I hadn't done it but I wanted to go home so badly that I just went into his room, stripped for him, bent over and let him fuck me." He went red again and covered his face.

If there were a few emotions Ranma Death hated the most they would have to be lust, embarrassment and vulnerability. All of which the young demon was experiencing at the very moment. When it came to sex, Ranma was coy and vulnerable. He didn't understand why, because men were supposed to be dominant and hard core and were supposed to say "I'm going to fuck you tonight" instead of "I want you to fuck my brains out tonight." Men were the ones who did the raping and were on the top, or whatever.

Not Ranma Death, though. He was the type of boy who enjoyed being a sex toy. In all truth: he had enjoyed the night the old man had taken him. He had enjoyed being touched and stroked and fucked. It was why Ranma was so embarrassed about sex.

Normally he was moody, and angry and strong, not a pansy in the least. He enjoyed being controlled in the bedroom, though. He enjoyed having his wrists held down by two strong hands, and having someone plunge almost painfully into him numerous times, even after Ranma was released, he liked having someone plow into him. He loved the aftershocks.

Which is why it was so embarrassing.

A familiar pair of arms wrapped around him, Ranma stared up into Yuji's kind face. No words were spoken. Their lips met once more, this time Ranma responded to the kiss with an almost deprived fervency. He wrapped his arms around Yuji's neck and pulled him down onto the bed, their limbs entangled, and they fell into nirvana together.

…(BANG Enter: magical sexiness)…

Yuji kissed Ranma's body where he could reach before he pulled Ranma off and rolled over, collapsing onto the smaller boy's chest, breathing heavily. They sat in silence for a few moments before Yuji sat up and grinned, Ranma smiled sheepishly. The door suddenly burst open and Jessy stood in the doorway. Ranma gasped, placed a foot on Yuji's chest and kicked him off.

"Jessy! Get out! Get the fuck out right now!" he bellowed. He opened his mouth to yell again but was cut off as Jessy screamed a long list of profanities, some that even Yuji hadn't heard and that was saying something considering his father was the king of all swear words. Ranma went pink and then Jessy was gone, slamming the door shut as she left. The two boys flinched when she slammed her own door shut down the hall.

They stood very still and very quiet for a while, making sure Jessy wouldn't come back screeching again. Yuji grinned at Ranma but he had his back turned while he was getting dressed. He continued to avoid eye contact even after they were heading downstairs to the kitchen, fully dressed, Yuji had borrowed a shirt, though it was a bit too small.

They stayed in the kitchen for a long time, in silence. Ranma handed Yuji another drink and then turned his back on him quickly. The clock on the wall ticked loudly.

_Tick_

Yuji found that it was hard to swallow his drink, he stared at Ranma's back. It was just like school, before the two had become friends.

_Tock_

What they had just done was a moment of passion, yes they would change. But they could stay friends couldn't they?

_Tick_

The last thing Yuji wanted was to lose the friendship he had so yearned for, the love he felt was incredibly strong, to not continuously show Ranma how much he loved him after already doing so would be painful.

_Tock_

He bit his lip, recalling the moments when they had touched. He knew Ranma's lips were bruised and his bottom lip was bleeding. He wanted to say something. Anything. He needed to know things were still fine. He might explode if he didn't know.

_Tick_

His throat struggled, his lips trembled. His mind screamed "Say something! Say anything! Just speak to him!" He opened his mouth, no words came out. He tried again. Nothing. "One more time, just **do** it."

_Tock_

"I meant what I said earlier, Yuji." Ranma said softly, turning around to face him, his eyes were blazing with the arousal that had passed, embarrassment and…something else. "I meant it when I said I love you." Yuji stayed quiet.

They stared at each other for a long time, the hush was thick. Ranma breathed slowly and steadily, his face determined and flushed. Yuji didn't know what to say. Or rather, he didn't know what else to say except "Me, too. I meant it" Ranma smiled and moved towards him, arms outstretched for an embrace. When they met they quickly broke apart again as the sound of a car pulled in to the driveway.

--Love is kinda hot--

Botan and Ken sat in the car for a moment before they went inside. Botan gazed out the window, staring blankly thinking about the decision she had made. Was it the right choice? Was she really ready for marriage to Ken?

True, they had been secretly together for six years but still…it was a big decision. She knew that Ranma would react negatively, more than likely violently. However, a little voice inside her mind told her that she was the mother. She was the one with the control, not her son.

"Botan?" Ken's voice broke her train of thought and she blinked rapidly.

"What?" she asked befuddled.

"Are you sure you want to tell him…today?" Ken said softly, placing a hand on her fiancée's petite shoulder. "We can wait as long as you need to."

Botan smiled thankfully and shook her head "We've waited long enough, Ken." she sighed and stared at the house. "Let's go."

--This puzzle is weird--

Alright…So…This Chapter is…well…my first lemon to ever have written. It was, long. It was Hard. And it was slightly embarrassing. But I got through it. And, well, I think it sucks. Yeah, in fact, I KNOW it sucks. For those of you who are reading on fanfiction: I apologize for its…shortness and most of all its emptiness.

For those on mediaminer: I apologize for…well…everything.

Haha. I am ALSO sorry for taking so long…I was…busy. Let's go with that. (Actually, I was scared poopless that I would fuck this whole thing over) Yeah, so…I hope you found…SOMETHING about this chapter enjoyable. I promise the next will be good. I swear on…something. Give me something to swear on. Haha.

Okie dokie…what else do I feel the need to say? Oh yeah! The FULL, BLOWN DIRTINESS OF THIS CHAPTER WILL BE ON MEDIAMINER! So, if you wanna read it, go there. Under same title…under pen name of monkeyking2089

Alright, everyone! Have a Very Merry Christmas and to the rest of you: Happy Holidays…although I think Hanukah has ended…Huh. Not sure, but WHATEVER! Happy New Year, too.


	13. Chaptire 13

AN: Well, that last chapter kinda…sucked. Haha, I am very mean and critical of myself. It gives me the initiative to write better! WHEE! So please don't think I'm suicidal…Because I'm not…I'm just crazy is all. Yeah, that's it, I'm just crazy! WHEE!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas! I did! I got lots of presents, so I'm very happy! D

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Saiyuki

Now please enjoy:

Chaptire 13: The dragon feels defeated

When Botan Death had decided to return to the human world to raise her son, she chose a career as a freelance fictional book writer. She found one of the best editors in Tokyo, who just so happened to be one of kindest and most handsome humans she had ever laid eyes on. After only a year, they had begun dating.

However, Botan knew that her young son would be angry and uncomfortable with this. Thus, she and Kenichi Saotome kept their love a secret from not only Ranma but also from anyone else they knew. Even King Goku didn't know. Botan had every intention of gently telling Ranma about her relationship with her editor before he was twelve, but her son always managed to say something that made her trash the idea.

It was always something like "We don't need anyone else to make us happy, right mommy?" or "Do I make you happy?" or "I'm never going to get married, I wanna stay and protect you forever!" or the worst of all "You don't have any secrets from me, do you, mommy?"

And slowly, Ranma came to realize he could control his mother with these little sayings, with his temper, with his protective and dominating nature. Botan had allowed that to happen. She could easily have hanged it, she could have moved them both to Demon World and had him under constant training, or she could've had King Goku come straighten him out-but no. She figured he would grow out of this controlling stage.

She was wrong.

However the time had now come for her to put her foot down and let Ranma know that **she** was in control of not merely her life but **his** as well. She already knew how Ranma would react. She knew he would be angry, he would lash out, he would scream, fight, argue, and perhaps even beg. _"But __**you're **__the adult, Botan."_a small voice in Botan's conscience whispered _"The boy has no say in this: this is __**your**__ life! Take control!"_

With this thought, Botan and her new fiancée strode through the door, calling out Ranma's name. He appeared before her, along with his friend Yuji, and smiled as a greeting, Jessy soon joined them in the living room, coming down the stairs quietly. Botan didn't even notice the young goddess's pained expression, she had just had one of the biggest battles of her young life, fighting the voice that threatened to control her.

"Say hello to Ken, Ranma" Botan ordered before allowing Ranma to sit down. Ken glanced fearfully at her and Ranma cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"Say hello to Ken, Ranma." She repeated, Ranma gave her another look before he mumbled a boorish 'hello' to Ken. Botan didn't press it forward, though.

"Ranma," She started firmly "I have something very important to tell you." Jessy snorted from where she stood at the entryway to the living room, Botan ignored her "It's about Ken and I." Ranma furrowed his brow and glanced at Jessy who had snorted again "He and I have been a couple for several years now."

"**What?**" Ranma snapped, eyes narrowed, Yuji shot a furtive glance in Jessy's direction, she was snickering behind a small hand at this point, and her golden eyes were alight with amusement. "**What are you talking about?**"

Botan tried cleared her throat and suddenly found she had lost her voice. _"Keep going, Botan."_ The little voice mused _"What makes him think he has control over you? He should have better manners: you are the one who birthed him. He owes you! Not only is he a bastard child- he is a bastard child conceived from __**rape**__. Tell him what filth he is, tell him the disgusting manner in which he was conceived! Tell him what his father did to you! __**Punish the brat.**__"_

"**Mother!**" Ranma's voice snapped her out of her momentary stupor "**I am speaking to you-what are you talking abou-**" His words were cut short as Botan's hand came into contact, for the second time of both their lives, with his cheek. Yuji and Ken gasped, Jessy stopped snickering her eyebrows were now raised high, disappearing into her dark bangs.

"It is time you pay me the respect that you owe, Ranma Death." Botan snarled, not recognizing her own voice "I am your mother, I have control. This is my house, this is my life, and your life is also mine. So be silent and listen to what I have to say." Ranma's red eyes were narrowed so sharply that his pupils were almost snake-like.

"As I was saying before: Ken and I have been a couple for many years, and now we are getting married." Botan said smartly, Yuji's eyes went wide and he stared at Ranma, Jessy remained still. "Is that clear, Ranma?"

Ranma was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling quickly "You…" he began softly, obviously struggling to keep his voice strong "You can't do this to me." Botan cocked a brow "You have no right, **NO FUCKING RIGHT!**" Ranma stood up and tossed the coffee table between them to the side, shattering the glass a mere feet away from where Jessy stood, she didn't flinch "**AFTER ALL I HAVE DONE FOR YOU, FOR **_**US**_**-THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT YOUR SON?!**"

"Ranma," Botan attempted to speak, the voice was suddenly gone and in its place was her conscience.

"**NO!**" Ranma bellowed "**I REFUSE TO LISTEN TO ANOTHER ONE OF YOUR FILTHY WORDS! WHAT MADE YOU THINK YOU COULD TREAT ME LIKE SOME SORT OF PET? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SPRING THIS BULLSHIT ON ME LIKE THIS?! WHAT HAVE I EVER DONE TO DESERVE THIS?! I'VE DONE NOTHING BUT BEHAVE LIKE A PERFECT CHILD FOR YOU!"**

A stab of guilt pierced Botan's heart, what Ranma was saying was true, he was a good son, he was only trying to assure the safety and protection of both of them. Despite his ignorance of the entire situation, of _why_ they had to hide.

"**I WOULD KILL FOR YOU! ANYTHING TO MAKE YOU HAPPY WITH JUST ME! WHY IS MY LOVE NOT GOOD ENOUGH?! WHY DO YOU INSIST ON RUINING EVERYTHING?! I'VE LIVED WITHOUT A FATHER FOR ALL MY LIFE-NEVER ASKING WHO HE WAS! NEVER CARING AND NOW- NOW YOU EXPECT ME TO ACCEPT THIS-THIS-BASTARD AS A STEP-FATHER?!**"

That was also true. Ranma had never asked about his father before.

"**DO YOU THINK KEN WILL ACCEPT US FOR WHAT WE TRULY ARE? WILL HE WELCOME US INTO OPEN ARMS?! I REFUSE TO SIT BACK AND ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN, MOTHER!**"

What did he want her to do?

**"YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE, MOTHER! CHOOSE BETWEEN ME OR THIS MAN! THIS STRANGER! CHOOSE!**" To this Jessy snorted loudly, catching everyone's attention. The tiny girl stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, finding some dirt under her fingernail very interesting. "Do you have something to say, Jessy?"

Jessy smirked "Well," she shrugged "I just think you're being selfish is all, making your mom choose like this." Ranma glared daggers at her, she remained unphased. "You can't provide your mother with **everything**. Have you forgotten she needs a mate? A **soul mate**, you moron. You can't expect her to take **you** on as a lover. That would be…incest."

"Don't be disgusting!" Ranma snarled causing Jessy to snicker again.

"Exactly, Ranma." She chortled "You have no idea what it's like to have a soul mate of any kind. You only barely began making…ah, 'friends.'" She glanced wickedly at Yuji before continuing "Your mother, on the other hand, has felt the woes of love. She's experienced the waves of emotion that settle over you when you are in love, so it's only obvious she would crave it once more."

Ranma's lip curled and he glared at Ken. Botan's jaw had dropped at Jessy's words, surprised at their logic and astuteness. However, this was no news to Ranma, he was well aware that the young goddess was wise beyond her years-despite the random outbursts of profanities.

He glared at Jessy, baring his teeth in an almost animalistic way, but Jessy merely shrugged. "I'm only telling you how it is, Ranma. You have to give Botan the chance to, well, **live**." She turned around before glancing over her shoulder "But you're not the only one at fault here, Ranma." And with that the young girl marched back up the stairs, leaving the room thick with different emotions.

Anger, hatred, remorse, sadness, confusion, disappointment…

And all of these were emanating from Ranma. He couldn't decide whether he should run up the stairs and attempt to beat the hell out of Jessy for confusing him, or if he should kill Ken and stop the foolishness all at once, or he could run away. He could.

The thought appealed to him most of all the others. He **could** run away. He could abandon his mother, his human life and flee to Demon world. He could take on a care-free life, not having to worry about his mother constantly. He could drop all his anxieties. He could take on many lovers, or he could even take Yuji with him.

He bit his lip, mind swimming. He was falling down a bottomless pit of confusion, tormented by the many opportunities before him. But first, he needed to get out. He needed fresh air, however he also needed some sort of…lashing out of sorts. The urge to break something made his fingers twitch, he had his back turned to the other members of the room, staring at the place where Jessy had been standing only moments before. He could easily turn around and throw his cell phone into that bastard editor's face, smashing his nose.

Ranma could just picture the delightful scene as it would take place: He would turn and chuck the phone, with all his demonic strength, at Ken. He would hear the orgasmic sound of the nose crushing, blood would splatter everywhere, all over Ken's face and clothes, all over…Botan.

_"How __**dare**__ she spoil this happy family…"_ the little voice sprang up _"She should be…punished."_ Ranma's eyes flashed and violent, primordial instincts obtained sovereignty over the young demon's mind. _"She holds nothing but contempt for you, you know…_" Ranma nodded slightly, his breathing became heavier, his fingers twitched again. They ached to feel the delicious rubies of hot blood run over them, color his hands red.

"…Ranma…" another small voice sprang up, although it sounded more **external**, unlike the other.

_"Ranma,"_ the internal words were getting louder _"Your mother doesn't love you enough. After all you've done for her!"_ Ranma nodded again, he suddenly felt blind and only emotions were leading him as he turned around to face his mother, popping his knuckles. _"She should be punished!"_ He took a step towards her.

"…**Ranma**…" the outer voice said again, a little more fervently as he took another step. He stretched out his hands hungrily.

_"She only hates you…_" the louder voice started as Ranma took another step towards his mother, who was shrinking back against the couch fearfully. Ranma could practically _feel_ the blood pumping through her veins, aching to be released from the fleshy prison. _"…Because you look like your father, and that isn't your fault! Now kill her, Ranma!"_

"**Father?**" Ranma mumbled, stopping himself short, his fingers an inch away from his mother's neck. "Father…but I've never…met my father…how do **you **know what he looks like?" The second question was directed towards the voice, which didn't answer.

"**RANMA!**" Yuji shouted, pulling Ranma back by the collar of his shirt, he had been the outer voice calling him "What are you doing?" Ranma blinked and his vision was back, he stared directly at Botan, her violet eyes filled with tears and…fear?

"Mom—I'm…" he gripped his head as a sudden pain shot through it, a blinding, white-hot and excruciating pain. He needed to get away-_NOW._ He pulled himself out of Yuji's still tight grasp on his shirt and ran towards the door, the pain was so strong he felt as if his head might explode into a million pieces. He didn't feel the cold air as it hit his skin when he ran outside. He ran out into the middle of the street, gripping his head.

He fell to his knees and screamed, the pain shooting through his skull. He was going blind again, he only saw rubies of red drip onto the concrete as he bit his tongue. Ranma screamed again and scratched at his face. The voice that had been telling him what to do was shrieking vociferously, yelling incomprehensible words in a different language.

"RANMA!" Yuji yelled from the front door, Ranma groaned and fixed his eyes on his friend over his shoulder. When the young Urameshi saw trickles of red running down the younger boy's face he dashed towards him. Ranma bolted, screaming in pain as the voice shrieked even louder at the action.

Yuji attempted to keep up with his friend as he ran to the main street, cars skidding out of the way, trying to avoid Ranma. Tires squealed, horns honked, a few crashed, and Ranma never stopped. Yuji screamed when a car actually **hit** Ranma, he saw Ranma go limp for a moment at the contact-his body flew into the air with a rag-doll like effect before going rigid and doing a sort of back flip off the car roof. He kept running after placing his feet on the ground.

The woman in the car yelped and slammed on her brakes, giving Yuji the chance to run across the street after Ranma. But Ranma was fast, _too_ fast. Yuji couldn't keep up and the last he saw of Ranma was his spiky hair as it disappeared into the park. Yuji fell to his knees and growled angrily, pounding his fist on the sidewalk. Tears burned his eyes.

What the hell was going on? He was so confused! Why had Ranma reacted so…fiercely to the news of his mother getting married? Yuji could understand being angry, screaming and throwing things… but when he'd walked towards his mother, hand outstretched as if her were going to choke the blue haired woman…

"Blue…hair?" Yuji blinked away the tears and stood up. The image of the woman in the octagon picture frame dangling from his father's car mirror flashed in his mind. He recognized the woman now. It was **Ranma's mother**. How did their parents know each other? Wasn't Botan the woman Yusuke and the others had been searching for…for almost…seventeen years?

Suddenly it clicked.

Ranma said it had always been just he and his mother…Yusuke had once said Botan had run away. Ranma said his family was very private…and now Yuji knew why. It was because they were **hiding** from **The Spirit Detectives**.

An approaching, large and intimidating energy forced Yuji from his whirling thoughts. He turned around to see a very tall and beautiful man walking towards him. The man had spiky chestnut brown hair, thick and falling around his face. The man's eyes were shining like hot, liquid gold and his skin was the color of ground cinnamon. He was wearing a long, trench coat of white Tiger fur. He was tall, and strong looking, Yuji could tell he had muscles even through the thick coat.

Yuji blinked rapidly, not sure whether to run away from this god-like man, or stand there and piss his pants like a child. The man moved too fast for Yuji to choose either.The mean had to be at least six feet tall. He **towered** over Yuji.

He stared down at the young Urameshi, golden eyes shining immaculately. And then Yuji realized who the man was. "Y-you're Jessy's father…"

"Yes, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Son Wu K'ung." Goku replied kindly, his voice surprisingly less thunderous than Yuji would have imagined "But you may call me Goku, young Urameshi."

"H-how do you know my-"

"I know your father, simply put." Goku chuckled "Speaking of fathers-I should be one and retrieve my daughter from Ranma's mother."

"WAIT!" Yuji suddenly shouted when Goku turned on his gold-booted heal towards Botan's house. "Wait, one moment!"

"You're human," Goku stated, not ceasing his pace "You may be useless at most things but I'm certain you can multi-task. Walk **and** talk, boy." Yuji would normally have had many comebacks to the rude statement, but as Goku was much too intimidating, Yuji only complied.

"Uhm, well, sir, It's just that Ranma is acting strangely." He started "And he ran away! I'm worried-"

"He'll come back when he is ready, boy." Goku answered as they crossed the crowded street. Yuji lowered his head, seeing the police cars and ambulance helping people. One cop approached Goku and attempted to speak with him, but he stopped short and only stood dumbfounded.

Apparently even the spirit-energy retarded could feel the mammoth power that was Goku.

"Uh, how do you know that Ranma will be alright, sir?" Yuji asked, feeling child-like with so many questions.

"Because he is strong." Goku replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Yuji replied as they approached the house.

"Oh, **indeed**." Goku's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs, an expression identical to Jessy's, when he caught sight of Botan crying in Ken's arms and the shattered coffee table lying forgotten on the other side of the room. Yuji noted that Ken stiffened even before his eyes turned towards Goku. …Odd.

Botan looked up as the two came in. "Goku…" Botan sobbed, wrenching herself from Ken and flinging into Goku's arms. "Ranma-"

"I know little sister." Goku said compassionately "He will come back when he clears his mind. Springing this news on him about your secret…_engagement_ when it has been the two of you for all of his life has been difficult on him. You must have realized that?" Botan sniffled and nodded before wiping her eyes, she turned towards Ken.

"Goku, this is Kenichi Saotome," She informed, Ken reached a hand out to shake and Goku eyed the outstretched hand. He ignored the man and instead turned his gaze back to Botan. "My fiancé."

"I'll be taking my daughter home, now," Goku said strongly "And also I will be escorting the young Urameshi home." Botan looked startled.

"U-Urameshi?" she whispered "Not **Yusuke **Urameshi's son?" It was as if her eyes had suddenly opened, because she then realized that he **had **to be Yusuke's son-they had the same face.

She began to back away slowly and then turned around and ran up the stairs quickly, thankful for an excuse to be away from that face. How had she not realized it sooner? Because she was blind and selfish.

She was too busy worrying about her love between she and Ken becoming open to Ranma. She didn't even bother to think about how it would affect his mind…his life…She had only been concerned about herself…how she and Ken would live, if they would have more children…

And she realized that most of the time Ranma had not been included in her thoughts. Botan bit her lip, angry at herself for being so self-centered. She couldn't behave that way! She had a child who needed her!

Botan knocked politely on the door of Jessy's room before walking in to find the young goddess standing at the window, staring down at the empty street. She didn't turn when Botan entered. "Jessy, dear, your father is here."

"Where did Ranma go?" Jessy asked, ignoring Botan's statement.

"I'm…not sure." Jessy finally turned.

"You know this is mainly your fault, right?" she asked softly, not expecting an answer she sighed and continued "You're the one who keeps stuff hidden from him. He has few secrets. And the secrets he does have he plans on revealing them to you as soon as he gets a chance. But you're too selfish to pay attention to him anymore." Botan furrowed her brow and closed the door of the room, not wishing for the others to hear their conversation.

"You can't speak to me this way, Jessy." She said firmly. Jessy snickered and turned back to the window, placing her small hands upon the sill.

"I can do what I want." She chortled "Besides, you need to hear the truth anyway. I assume Daddy told you that Ranma's friend happens to be the son of Yusuke Urameshi?" Botan's eyes widened "Don't act so shocked, Botan! I'm a Goddess. It's my **job** to know stuff like that. But I won't go into further detail…I'm bored."

Botan bit her tongue lightly and wondered what else the child could possibly know. "You said my father is here, right?" Botan remained silent and nodded her head, Jessy turned around, and walked around Botan towards the door.

With her hand on the door knob Jessy turned back around "Are you coming?" Botan gave herself a small shake and followed the young girl into the hallway and down the stairs. When Jessy caught sight of her father, she ran and jumped into his large arms.

"I'm so happy to see you!" she squealed happily as he swung her around while placing large kisses on her cheeks. Botan joined them and forced a smile, she glanced down at Ken who was biting his bottom lip, his face had gone pale.

"Ken-"

"Well! Botan! Thank you so much for caring for my darling little work of perfection." Goku boasted merrily as the front door suddenly opened to reveal three tall men. Botan, Yuji and Ken jumped violently as they came into the living room, Jessy only smiled giddily at them.

"SANZO!" she chirped, reaching a white arm-length glove covered hand over her father's large shoulder toward one of the men, who smirked and held her tiny palm. The man was tall, even taller than Goku. This man had to be **at least** 6'3. He had pale skin like moonlight and golden hair that was pulled back into a think ponytail wit long bangs that fell around his face, a red chakra on his forehead and he had piercing eyes of deep lavender.

With Jessy's bronze hand in his the man seemed even paler. "How are you, monkey junior?" he asked a surprisingly silky, deep voice, Yuji had pictured a sort of light and feathery voice. He was wearing a sari of pure, white silk, it hung loosely over his shoulders and then was pulled tightly at the waist by a golden belt. The bottom of the sari dragged on the floor, with wide slits for the man's pale legs, and thick gold anklets just above his bare feet jingled as he walked.

"I'm not monkey junior!" Jessy giggled and pulled playfully at Sanzo's hair with her free hand.

"Yes you are." One of the other men said in a very smooth and sultry voice, Yuji assumed that this man was trying to sound sexy but when he continued talking he realized that it was just the way he naturally sounded…and appeared "Did you miss your uncle Gojyo?"

The man was just a _bit_ taller than Sanzo, but quite a comparison standing next to him. Where as Sanzo was shining and golden, Gojyo was dark and very much a darkling of sorts. He had skin the color of desert sand, and thin, choppy black hair. His bedroom eyes were red like wine, and he was clad in tight, black leather pants, a leather jacket with gold lining that hung open revealing a tan, lean chest with a silver skull and silver plates on the shoulders accompanied the pants, and black boots with red lacings completed the outfit. Also, on his forehead was some sort of black Chakra.

The man nuzzled Jessy's nose and grinned wickedly, Sanzo sneered and slapped the other man. "OW! What the hell, Konzen?" Gojyo snarled.

"You were **touching** me." Sanzo answered, taking Jessy out of Goku's arms, who remained silent and smiling. The golden haired man smirked as Jessy rested her head on his shoulders and sighed comfortably, she gazed at the last man who was pulling out a small fur coat, identical to Goku's.

"Hakkai…" Jessy smiled as the man approached. He was shorter than Sanzo or Gojyo, but still taller than Goku. This man was slightly frightening, yet still beautiful. He was darker than Sanzo, yet still milky colored. He had dark brown hair that fell in an almost mullet-style to his shoulders, and deep green eyes behind black-rimmed glasses. Out of all the men, he was the most "normal" dressed person.

Although it was still odd, he wore an off-white lab coat, underneath was a white button up with a forest green tie, and dark brown pants. "Hello, my little darling." He greeted in a surprisingly kind voice as he helped Jessy into the coat with his black gloved hands. "Were those your shoes by the door?" Jessy nodded, he eyes drooping slightly when she laid her head back onto Sanzo's shoulder.

"May I ask to what we owe the pleasure or your presence?" Goku asked suddenly, ignoring the other people in the room.

"You didn't expect us to let you pick up our spunky little princess alone, did you?" Gojyo asked with a crooked smile, he ruffled Jessy's hair and made an ugly face when Sanzo glared at him "Don't **hog** her to yourself, you selfish bast-"

"Now, now, children," Hakkai interrupted pulling Gojyo away from Sanzo by the collar "Behave! We don't want to be any more intruding as we already are to Madam Botan, now do we?"

As if the other three men suddenly realized Botan, Yuji and Ken were there they turned to them, eyebrows lifted. "Hello!" Botan smiled nervously, placing a hand on Ken's shoulders "I hope you are all doing well?"

"Wonderful now that we have our princess back in our hands." Gojyo smiled "We'd ask how **you** are, but we already know." Botan winced slightly and Sanzo smacked the black-haired man in the back of the head. Gojyo hissed and glared at his offender. "I swear, I'm going to screw your neck off and crap down your throat!"

This time Sanzo Used Jessy's hand to smack him in the back of the head. "Dammit!"

"Uh, Kenichi!" Botan started, sensing a fight approaching "Allow me to introduce you to my…friends! This is Goku, Jessy's father." Goku didn't look at Ken "Eh, and this is Konzen Douji, but we all call him Sanzo." Sanzo also ignored the man and chose to walk to the front door to put Jessy's shoes on her tiny feet "This is Kenren Taishou, we call him Gojyo!" Gojyo followed the other man.

"Be careful, Konzen, she's sleeping. Don't wake her up!" he warned unnecessarily.

"**I know that**, you half-wit!" Those still in the living room hear Sanzo snap back.

Botan was now flushing pink "And this is-"

"Tenpou Gensui." Hakkai finished for her, bowing politely "They call me Hakkai, however, I prefer it if you didn't." he gave a cold smile and turned towards Yuji, acknowledging him for the first time "We have a car waiting outside, Yuji. Why don't you join the others? Don't worry their bark is worse than their bite."

Yuji nodded numbly, he glanced at Botan "G'bye, Ms. Death." He mumbled before walking out of the living room, leaving Botan, Ken, Goku and Hakkai.

They waited until they heard Yuji shut the front door and walk outside to speak "Hakkai-" Botan started only to be cut off with Hakkai's stern words.

"Sit down, Botan." She bit her lip and sat next to Ken, who only stared at his hands silently. Hakkai's smile was no longer present as he continued "We thank you for caring for Jessy."

Botan nodded.

"However," Hakkai continued "We cannot understand why you took such…ignorant actions as to get engaged to this…**man**."

"I resent that, sir!" Ken said boldly, standing up suddenly.

"Sit down, fool." Goku snapped, Ken clammed up and flopped back onto the couch, all courage deflated.

"As I was saying," Hakkai continued "Your actions have caused disturbance to this happy home we have provided you. To the protection we have given you. There is a high chance that Ranma may be permanently disturbed."

"W-what?" Botan whispered shakily "But I-I didn't think-I don't understand…how can that-"

"Have you not noticed my absence?" Goku asked "Do you honestly believe I would leave my daughter here for so long without so much as a letter?" Botan covered her face with her hands "Something has been happening and your engagement to this stranger will only worsen the situation."

"We will be taking Jessy permanently." Hakkai informed, turning on his heel towards the door after a curt bow "Along with Ranma."

"What?! No! You can't do that to me!" Botan cried, standing up and rushing towards Hakkai "You can't take him from me!" she clutched a coat-clad arm. "Goku! Please don't allow him to-"

"The decision has been made, Botan." Goku replied sadly "We will take him home with us and keep him until he is well enough to come home. But you must call off this foolhardy affair! Should you not do so-"

"No, Goku, please…"

"We will keep Ranma forever." Hakkai finished, Botan sobbed in defeat and let her hand fall as she sunk to the floor.

"I didn't think…" she cried miserably "I was only…"

"Being selfish." Goku sighed "This is your punishment, Botan. I hope you will atone for your sin during Ranma's absence. He will be well enough to enter the tournament next summer. I pray you will be ready to accept him."

And then they left, closing the door softy. Leaving Botan to sob on the floor as Ken sat dumbfounded and frightened on the couch.

--The plot Thickens, peoples—

Koenma still remembered the day Botan had asked him if she could live in the human world, because she wanted to retire with the Spirit Detectives. Koenma had been sitting at his desk, reading some infuriating letter from Son Goku about the next meeting, when Botan knocked timidly on the office door.

"Come in." Koenma called out loudly, seeing the pink and blue out of the periphery of his eye he knew immediately that it was Botan "What is it, Botan?"

Botan bit her lip and gripped her oar tightly to her chest, another person followed her into the room, making Koenma look up finally. "Oh, Kurama, too. What is it?" Concern creased his forehead "Is something wrong?"

Kurama smiled encouragingly at Botan and nodded his head slightly, Botan flushed the same shade of pink as her kimono "Oh, well, actually...Koenma, sir." She started hesitantly "I do have something rather important to tell you. B-but it's nothing to be worried about!" she said quickly as the Spirit Prince stood up "I was just…just…"

"Just what? Spit it out!"

"Well, I'm here to tell you that I'm going to retire with Kurama and the others and I would like to live in the human world as a human!" she gasped heavily and saw the room start to spin slightly, Kurama placed his hands on her small shoulders for support.

She gave a small smile as thanks and started back at Koenma. His forehead was creased again, and he was now sitting on the edge of his desk, hands in his lap.

"No." he denied, Botan's face dropped. "Now get back to work, I'm busy."

Botan stood there utterly defeated, having no clue what to do. Kurama made an impatient sound and stepped forward "Koenma," he started angrily "You didn't even consider it!"

"Because there is nothing to consider, Kurama." Koenma snapped back "I've given her my answer and that is final. Now leave my office, I have work to do."

Botan gave a small sob, causing Koenma to look up. He caught a single tear streak down her face before she buried her face into her hands, her oar clattered to the floor. Kurama walked towards her and whispered something into her ear, she sobbed even louder and shook her head. "No, no…he'll never agree…" Koenma heard her whisper back.

Kurama furrowed his brow and stared at Koenma. "Koenma, please." He pleaded "You have to understand-you have to understand.'

"Understand **what**?" Koenma said icily, crossing his arms, striding foreword with his long legs "Do I need to understand that my best ferry girl wants to run off with a convicted felon? A **demon**?" Kurama's emerald eyes narrowed "Yes, I know about the two of you. Despite what you think, I am not blind."

"Well then you can see that we love each other!" Kurama argued, taking a bold step towards the prince "What's the problem with her wanting to become my wife?"

"**WIFE?**" Koenma snapped, glaring at Botan "Is **that** what you truly want? My best ferry girl-"

"That's all you see her as, Koenma!" Kurama refused to give up obviously "A ferry girl, and employee! She's tired of cleaning up after your messes! Your immature, childish antics! She can have a child of her own-"

"A CHILD?" Koenma's eyes nearly popped "Is that what is happening, Botan? You're pregnant and you want to make amends by-"

"I AM NOT PREGNANT, KOENMA!" Botan screamed, glaring with swollen eyes "I've been a ferry girl forever and now that Kurama loves me I want to be with him! Why can't you give me that?" It was the first time Botan openly admitted she and Kurama were in love. She didn't stop yelling until she was dizzy again, and Kurama had to hold her.

When she had finished her rant, Koenma granted her permission. And that was where the hell-story had started.

Koenma growled angrily at himself when he felt tears sting his eyes, blurring his eyesight. He blinked them away and continued to walk up Yusuke's front lawn to the door, which Yusuke opened even before the prince had completed the short distance.

"Felt you coming." Yusuke informed with a smirk "Kurama, Hiei and Kuwabara are here, too."

"Good." Koenma replied as he walked inside and greeted the others who were all seated in the living room drinking tea.

"What's going on, Koenma?" Yusuke asked worriedly "This is the first time in years that you've called us altogether." Koenma nodded and sat down on the chair Yusuke normally lounged in.

They heard a car pull into the driveway. "That must be Yuji." Yusuke said thoughtfully "He can let himself in."

"Alright…" Koenma began slowly "I have some news about Botan." Everyone listened intently, even Yuki who had been passing through the living room to the kitchen. "She's safe, and well, of course. I was at the regular meetings of Heaven and Spirit World…when they revealed to me they have been the ones hiding her."

"WHAT?" Yusuke and shouted Kuwabara shouted in unison.

"This whole time?" Kurama asked softly. "Did they say why?"

"Yes…" Koenma continued "Apparently…she has a son who is about fifteen or sixteen year old." Everyone's jaw dropped, Hiei's eyes went wide. Fifteen...had Botan gotten pregnant their child would be…

"Kurama…" Kuwabara said suddenly "Is he yours-?"

Kurama shook his head quickly and stood up, running a hand through his hair "No." he replied "No, no he isn't mine. Botan and I never…"

"Then who's-"

"I'm not finished." Koenma replied "They wouldn't tell me the father, but they did give his name."

"What is it?" Kurama demanded, a bit crazed.

"Kurama, calm yourself." Hiei warned "Go on, Koenma."

Koenma cleared his throat "Yes, well…his name is Ranma Death."

"No fucking way!"

All eyes snapped towards Yuki, Yusuke threw a pillow at him "Mouth, Yuki!"

Yuki tossed the pillow aside "I **know** that kid!"

"WHAT?"

"He goes to my school! In fact, he and Yuji are like best friends now! Dad, you just drove Yuji to Ranma's **house**." Yusuke snatched his keys from the key rack and headed towards the door, the others followed.

When they walked outside, though a mammoth amount of energy hit them all at once, they stopped in the driveway. Yuji was getting out of the large, dark green SUV, along with four full-grown gods and a child goddess. "Who the hell?" Yusuke growled.

"Hello, stupid Prince." Goku greeted with a smirk "Didn't I tell you to steer clear of Botan and her offspring?"

"Son Goku…" Hiei said softly. Goku was famous even in the Demon world, and so was his daughter, who Hiei immediately recognized, having seen her once or twice when she was younger.

"Hi, Mr. Spiky-Scary-Eye man!" Jessy said loudly, waving her arm in the air childishly, she was being held by Hakkai now "I hope you aren't causing any more problems for Mr. Loser-Pacifier-Poopy-Baby-Diaper man, are you?"

Gojyo smirked mercilessly, he pulled Yuji back by the collar of his shirt. "Didn't Goku warn you, earlier today?" his smirk widened into an evil grin "I thought the word 'war' was tossed around, am I right, Konzen dearest?"

Sanzo snorted "As unbelievable as it sounds, Kenren, I think you're right…For once."

"I'll let that one slide, since you're such a lady-killer." Gojyo's red eyed glinted "Hey, Jessy, what do you think about that, huh? War, would you fight for us, neh, neh?"

"Of course she wouldn't," Hakkai chuckled.

"Oh, but how come, Tenpou?" Gojyo whined.

"Because I would win, silly!" Jessy laughed "Neh, neh, Hakkai?" Hakkai smiled as well.

"Of course."

"We didn't go, Goku." Koenma informed firmly "We hadn't even left.

"Ah, 'Goku, Goku, Goku!'" Goku mocked "I think it's high time you pay me my respect! It's Seitan Taisei to you from now on! After all, Koenma, we will be engaging in war, won't we?"

"W-A-R!" Jessy spelled merrily, thrusting a small fist in the air.

"You wouldn't really wage war against us, would you? Seitan Taisei?" Yusuke asked with a slight threatening tone "I would that be wise for heaven?"

"Cork it, filth." Sanzo snarled "It's not like you have a place in Heaven."

"Ooooh!" Jessy giggled, jumping from Hakkai's arms to the cold concrete of the driveway "Another new person! Ooh! And another and another!"

"How many is that, Jessy?" Hakkai queried, going into teacher-mode.

"Three!" Jessy answered.

"Looks like you got your monkey trained." Kuwabara snickered, Jessy glared at him.

"Looks like you don't have your ugly BEAST trained, Mr. Grow-More-Flowers- -I'm-Too-Sexy-For-My-Panties man!" she directed towards Kurama who merely blinked in confusion.

"Who are you calling a ugly beast, squirt?!" Kuwabara demanded.

"First of all- It's 'who are you calling **an** ugly beast,'" Hakkai corrected "And secondly I believe she was referring to **you**!"

"This is ridiculous!" Hiei snapped, catching everyone's attention "What do you mean you will wage war against the Spirit World?"

"And people call **me** dense!" Jessy Scoffed, placing her hands behind her head, Hiei glared at her and Jessy kicked her shoe off, hitting him squarely in the Jagan. He screamed and gripped his head, falling to the floor.

The gods all laughed.

"Wasn't doing you much good, anyway, Hiei Jaganshi, convicted Thief." Jessy said smoothly

"And as soon as we win this war…" Gojyo started.

"You will be a convicted rapist." Hakkai finished in a frighteningly cheerful tone.

"Daddy, what's a rapist?" Jessy asked suddenly, running to her father.

"Oh, a rapist…" Goku began, picking his daughter up as a cloud gathered around his feet "Is what Hiei is!" He glared at Hiei and then smiled cruelly at Koenma "Well! To start this war, Koenma we will be taking a prisoner!"

"P-O-W!" Jessy spelled out, emphasizing each letter with a punch in the air.

"The Urameshi kid should do nicely, I think." Gojyo said non-chalantly, looking Yuji up and down "Yep! He'll make a nice pet!"

"I name him Toppers!" Jessy decided

"Why Toppers?" Hakkai asked, his cloud also appearing hazily around his feet.

"Because that's the position he and Ranma were in-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH, JESSY." Hakkai said loudly, Gojyo was snickering.

"That's Konzen's nick-name for you, Gojyo!" Jessy informed.

"Haha-wait, WHAT?!" Sanzo chuckled and rose a few feet in the air, sitting atop his cloud. The green SUV turned into a small dragon, that rested atop Hakkai's shoulders as he too rose up in the air.

"DAD!" Yuji screeched when Gojyo flew up as well, holding onto the teenager by only his collared shirt.

"YUJI!" Yusuke bellowed, aiming his fingers at Gojyo, who merely laughed.

"Moron!" he chortled "You'll hurt your boy, we don't want that, now do we?" he dangled Yuji over the concrete, now stories high in the air, taunting those below. "I'd be ok with whatever you throw at me. But fleshy-boy here, I don't think He'd make it!"

"NO!" Yusuke screamed, jumping on top of his own car "Give me my son back!" The others laughed, Kurama took out his whip and attempted to grab Yuji.

"Hey, hey!" Hakkai called "You might hurt someone with that toy you have!"

"Or break a nail." Sanzo sneered, they all laughed again.

"Koenma!" Goku called "I won't tell you when our attack will be! I like to surprise you! But I will be at the tournament in June!"

"GOKU!" Koenma bellowed, trying to be heard over Yusuke's screaming for his son back. "This isn't right! Give Yusuke the boy!"

"Why should we?" Jessy demanded "You didn't stay away from ours, and after daddy **warned **you!"

"She's quite, right, Prince Koenma." Hakkai put in "You brought this upon yourself! Have a nice evening everyone! Happy New Year!"

"And happy Hanukah!" Gojyo laughed, pulling Yuji back onto the cloud as they all disappeared into the sky with Yuji screaming.

"DAD! HELP ME!"

"YUJI! NO NO NO NO NO!" Yusuke screamed "Koenma! Get me into Heaven! I want my son!"

"That won't work Yusuke!" Koenma said calmly "We can only wait for what they do. None of us are allowed into Heaven. We are Spirits, demons and humans! We would be let into Nirvana, where the souls go. Not where the Gods are, there are different levels. There's nothing I can do at this point!"

Yusuke screamed and punched the car window, shattering it.

"I'll go to Botan's house. That's what I'll do. She'll know what to do." She was desperate at this point, wanting nothing more than to have his son back. "I don't understand why this happened! How did this start? Hiei! You know something! They were talking to you! What did you do?!"

All eyes turned to Hiei, who was still clutching his eye, blood stained the now red head band. He stared wildly at all of them, wincing. He sighed and tried to collect himself. "Well-"

--Bang—

Goku and the others flew towards an old, abandoned housing district that had once thrived before the depression of the twentieth century. They stopped just outside of what used to be a house for Geisha. Jessy hopped out of her father's grasp, her one bare foot landing gracefully among the rubble.

"Why has nobody re-done this area?" she mused, mainly to herself. She could tell it had once been beautiful and warm, quite the opposite of what it is now. She walked inside the house, the door hung off the hinges so her polite knock was unnecessary. "Pardon my intrusion!" She called kindly as she walked inside.

She walked among more rubble, flowers formed on every surface her bare foot came into contact with. She walked towards a large kimono closet that was collapsing slightly in some places. But the door remained firm. She tore it off the hinges and smiled warmly at the contents.

Ranma lay dozing, among old, charcoal covered kimonos that had been forgotten for so long. He was half-naked, having lost his shirt at some point and he was breathing heavy, large puffs of white forming with every exhale. "Come on, Ranma." She said sweetly, pulling him with surprising strength, she grabbed all the kimonos and wrapped them around Ranma before dragging him outside.

She formed her own cloud and joined the other gods and passed out human in the sky. Gojyo had Yuji slung over his shoulder like a pack of rice.

"Trade ya!" he offered jokingly as they flew back into Heaven.

--Cliffhanger?—

AN: yep. That's what it is. I hope you liked this chapter. I know it was a bit…choppy. But the choppiness was needed. Had to get it over with. I feel relieved. I really hope you liked it.

Please Review! ReviewLove


	14. Chaptire 14

Chaptire 14: The Dragon Sleeps Before the Fight of Its life.

-Bam-

Yuji sighed contentedly as he awoke. He could tell the room was very bright even though his eyes were shut. The light was pure, and soft and comforting, making the young teenager feel even more comfortable. He sighed again and rolled over on the soft, fluffy bed, feeling extremely warm underneath the feathered blanket.

Yuji's brown eyes snapped open and he jumped out of the unfamiliar bed as if lighting had struck him. This wasn't his blanket, or his bed, or his room! And these **certainly** weren't his clothes; he didn't even **own** a silk, jade green sari! He stared around, open-mouthed, at the alien room. The bed he had been so comfortably sleeping in was a four poster, long white silken curtains hung lazily from it. The whole room was white. From the white pillows, white marble floors, white walls, and tall white pillars that held the immaculate ceiling up. He glanced at the ceiling.

An image of Buddha meditating on a large white lotus decorated the wide ceiling.

Yuji ran to the white French doors, pushed them open and stepped out onto the balcony. A garden of every beautiful plant imaginable greeted him. He was on the second floor, from there he could see blue roses, and a large fountain filled with jade green water. Roaming among the flowers and the green hedge-maze were several gods, all of indescribably beauty.

But a certain goddess caught his eye. It was Jessy. She was walking in the opposite direction with another goddess. The woman was tall and pale, with dark green hair that almost seemed black, and she was clad in a white sari much like Sanzo's. Jessy had her hair pulled back, surrounding her head was a golden coronet. She was also dressed in a pale, yellow sari that fell below her shoulders and fell loosely around the rest of her body gathering at her tiny waits by an emerald green belt.

Yuji understood where he was, he understood that Ranma was a demon, and had assumed Jessy was as well. But he was wrong. She was, in fact, a goddess.

Yuji backed away from the balcony and into his room as Jessy and the other woman stopped and turned to stare at him. "Beautiful, aren't they?" Came a familiar voice from behind, Yuji spun around and gasped as Gojyo and Hakkai walked in. They both smiled politely.

"I hope you slept well, Yuji?" Hakkai asked, he had been the one who spoke earlier. Yuji walked backwards towards the balcony, and screamed loudly when he bumped into something soft and small, as he turned around he was greeted with a huge grin and a hug around his waist.

"GOOD MORNING, YUJI!" Jessy squealed, hugging him tightly.

"How did you get up-" Yuji stuttered.

"Jessy, now how many times do we have to tell you?" Gojyo asked smoothly grabbing Jessy and hoisting her on his shoulders "You can't climb up the railing you might fall and hurt yourself."

"Okay." Jessy replied glumly, slouching down so that she bent forward over Gojyo's head. Yuji started when he felt a cool hand upon his forehead, Hakkai furrowed his brow.

"You seem to be running a slight fever." He glanced at Gojyo "Perhaps from the bonk on your head. Maybe you should lie down?"

"Sorry about that, kiddo." Gojyo chuckled apologetically "But I had to hit you, you were squirming around so much." Yuji gave an exasperated sob and slunk to the floor, bringing his knees as close to his chest as physically possible before wrapping his arms around them tightly. He felt utterly defeated and vulnerable.

He was a prisoner of war, a war between Heaven and the Spirit World. And if what he heard about Heaven was true, he was doomed. He would never see his family again; he would never get to go home! All of his efforts to make the Urameshi family name good were all washed down the drain with one swift flush.

Jessy pouted as she hopped down from Gojyo's shoulders and sat next to Yuji on the floor. She patted his head like a pet and gave a small smile "It'll be okay, Yuji." She said gently "You're in Heaven! It's…kind of awesome up here!" Yuji sobbed again and the elder gods exchanged routed glances. "Oh, Yuji, dear…What's wrong with Heaven? I live here, you know! So does Ranma…"

"Ranma lives here?' Yuji swung his head up so fast he hit Jessy in the face with his head. She squealed and fell backwards, clutching her nose. "Oh-"

"Owie!" Jessy groaned, standing up groggily "That one hurt…"

Hakkai rushed to Jessy's side and moved her hand slowly, inspecting the damage done while Gojyo spoke to Yuji. "She'll be okay, she's a tough cookie." He reassured, glancing over his shoulder at the other two "But to answer your question, yeah. Ranma is living here with us. He's here right now, in fact."

"C-can I see him?" Yuji asked, sniffling.

Gojyo shook his head "Not right now, he's…ah…"

"Oud ob comishun." Jessy put in nasally, having difficulty speaking due to Hakkai pinching her bleeding nose and tilting her head back.

"Uh…"

"She said 'out of commission.'" Hakkai translated unenthusiastically.

"Yeah, exactly." Gojyo agreed "Out of commission." Yuji frowned.

"What does that…mean, exactly?" He queried, Gojyo opened his mouth only to shut it immediately as Goku and Sanzo walked into the room. Goku was wearing a lovely green Sari, identical to Jessy's, although instead of a golden belt was a skirt of tiger fu

"Ah! Good morning, Yuji." He greeted "What happened, darling?" he asked his daughter.

"Yudhi actidentayee buhted my node." She informed, Goku frowned in perplexity.

"She said 'Yuji accidentally busted my nose.'" Hakkai translated again "Darling why don't I send you down to Nataku, hm? We have some important business to discuss with Yuji. Alright?"

"Ohday, dahddee can I hab a cookie?" Jessy stared at her father expectantly, who in turn stared at Hakkai.

"'Okay, Daddy can I have a cookie?'"

"Oh!" Goku laughed and gave his daughter a small piece of parchment from a pouch hanging from his skirt. "Yes, of course you can have a cookie, my darling. But make sure to give this to Nataku first, alright? Stay with him until one of us comes for you, alright?" Jessy nodded and ran out of the room, after Sanzo grabbed her in for a brief hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Stay out of trouble." He ordered kindly as she shut the door. Yuji thought he heard a faint 'OHDAY!' from the hallway, but wasn't quite sure. All eyes were on the young teenager, whose eyes were puffy and cheeks were flushed. He cringed slightly at the attention.

"I didn't mean to hurt her, Goku-sama…" Gojyo grinned and turned towards the monkey king.

"Yeah, _Goku-sama._" He teased, Goku cocked a thick brow.

"Yuji, don't ever call me that again." He ordered, irked "You may refer to me as Goku." Yuji nodded his head quickly, not wanting to earn any of the frightening, yet awe-inspiring, gods' wraths.

"Hey, Kenren…" Sanzo said softly "get away from the boy. You're scaring the piss out of him." Gojyo frowned and slung an arm around Yuji who whimpered and jumped violently. Gojyo removed his hand and walked away from him. "Better, kid?"

Yuji felt tears prickle his eyes. Tears had become familiar with the past day and a half. He glanced at every one in the room, all frightening tall and beautiful. Their immense strength was overwhelming and amazing at the same time. Just thinking about Heaven had sometimes sent Yuji's mind spinning like a top, so actually being there was…too much.

No wonder he was running a fever.

"Yuji would you like some tea?" Hakkai asked suddenly, in the most sweetly-coated voice Ranma had ever heard in his entire life. It was almost…erotic. Yuji nodded his head, lost in the saturated tone which the green-eyed god had used. Hakkai pulled a long rope from beside the bed that Yuji had somehow missed and ordered tea. He turned back to Yuji with a warm smile.

"Yuji…" Goku began "Do you know where you are?"

"Jessy said I was in Heaven…" Yuji replied Goku nodded and ignored Gojyo's muttering of 'before you busted her in the honker.'

"You know," Sanzo added, leaning against one of the poles on the bed he dug dirt from under his nails, very much the pose Jessy had taken before "Humans aren't allowed here. Not in this division. They have to be re-incarnated…or dead…"

"Am I dead?" Yuji sobbed, the thought just occurring to him.

"No, of course you aren't!" Goku answered with a laugh "What Sanzo means is that we have made an exception for you." Oh. That's what they meant.

"But do you know why?" Gojyo asked.

"Because I'm a prisoner of war?" There was a thick silence, in which the four gods avoided eye contact, trying their best not to lose control. But Gojyo and Goku caught each other's eyes and then completely lost it.

They leaned on each other for support as they cracked up, laughing hysterically. Hakkai hid his laughter behind his hand and Sanzo gave his normal, deep throated chuckle. Yuji stared bewildered at all of them.

Things weren't making sense. Why were they laughing? And it wasn't the cruel, teasing type of laughter they had been using when he had been kidnapped. No, this was the laughter of an extremely good joke. This was side-splitting, pants-pissing laughter.

Yuji didn't like it.

"What's so freaking funny?" He screamed causing the four men to momentarily stop cackling and stare at him. "I don't understand what is so funny! I'm being serious, here!"

"THAT"S what's so fucking hilarious!" Gojyo retorted shrilly, bursting into another fit of laughter, soon followed by Goku. Hakkai shook his head yet kept smiling and Sanzo retained an amused smirk. After several minutes, the god's laughter began to wind down to continuous chuckling before ending into a snigger every now and then.

Gaining, his composure, Goku cleared his throat and wiped away a happy tear from his eye before continuing "Ah, now that was a good laugh. Do you agree Sanzo?" Sanzo grunted in what Yuji assumed was the cloned-haired god's way of agreement. "Yes, well, Yuji. To answer your question: yes. You are a prisoner of war. "

Yuji frowned "Then why was it so funny?"

"It was the way you said it." Sanzo replied tenderly "That and the fact that it was true…well…Heaven hasn't exactly had a 'prisoner of war.' Also…We didn't just bring you here as a prisoner."

"No?"

"No."

"Then why am I here…exactly? If you don't need me, can't I go home? Is my staying here that important?"

"Yes."

"Yes, I can go home?"

"No."

"No, what? No my presence isn't that important and yes I can go home?"

Sanzo grunted in aggravation and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "I have a high tolerance for most things…but human children are **not** my cup of tea." He straightened up and began walking to the door "I'm going to find the other little monkey."

He left, slamming the door so hard it fell off the hinges. "SOMEONE FIX THE DOOR." They heard him yell from somewhere down the hall.

"Yes…" Hakkai cleared his throat "Well, as we were saying, you aren't just a prisoner of war. We actually brought you here more for Ranma than anything."

"For Ranma?" Yuji inquired "Why?"

"Jessy told us about your…ah…"

"Fucking him." Gojyo finished receiving a glare from the other two gods "What? Well they ARE." Hakkai's nostrils flared and he turned back towards Yuji, he cast another dirty glower at the black-haired god before continuing.

"As I was saying, Jessy has told us that you two are together." Yuji nodded, although not before going scarlet "And we thought it only polite to bring the one closest to him along…"

"He's closer to his mother, though." Yuji rose "Why didn't you bring her?"

"Would you rather not ever see Ranma again?" Gojyo asked in a sugar-coated tone "If you don't want to be here for him, we can treat you as a prisoner of war…we can treat you like our teenage-sex slave from Bosnia."

"Or prison, we can trade you for cigarettes!" Goku added gleefully, making Yuji whimper. They started laughing again but quickly cut short when they caught Hakkai's livid stare. "Ahem, but I think you should just stay here with Ranma. He would miss you terribly, you know."

Yuji nodded again and stared at his bare knees, the sari having fallen between them. It was strange. He was in such a foreign place, as foreign as a place could get. Yet he was so comfortable. In fact, the only reason he cried was because he **knew** he was absent from his family. Had he woken up to a room exactly like his own, he would have continued to sleep. He would have felt no difference.

"Yuji." Hakkai's voice rang out clear and deadly-serious "Goku and Gojyo may laugh at the situation, but the truth is that your accompanying Ranma is the direst of necessities at this point in time." Hakkai's green eyes grew misty "You see, Ranma…is indeed out of sorts. Had we not brought him here, where he is secure from the thing we are fighting, he would surely have gone mad and destroyed everything and everyone in his path; including you and his mother. And it is Possible the entire human world, even with your father and the other spirit detectives' protection."

Yuji felt his breath catch; was Ranma truly that powerful? Yuji had figured he was a demon, but to be able to destroy the **entire world?** That was something Yuji couldn't even begin to fathom as a possibility.

"How can someone be that powerful?" Yuji voiced "Isn't that impossible?"

"Improbable, maybe. Impossible, no." Hakkai retorted "You see Heaven is not just at war with the Spirit World. That's something completely different. What is truly the threat is a demon. A demon of incredible power, Gojyo knows more about it than anyone"

Gojyo shuffled under everyone's stare, crossing his arms as if he were defying his discomfort "Well, it happened years ago. Before you were born." He began slowly "I'm the god of war, so it's my job to see over all the threatening activates that go on with all three worlds. One day, almost thirty years ago, I spotted this…for lack of a better word, cluster of massive spiritual energy. At the time it showed no sign of hostility, so I let it go, simply out of curiosity. I should have gotten rid of it when I first spotted it, but no.

"I didn't. And due to me not placing my authority down, it grew enormous and powerful." The war-god frowned slightly in though "But curiosity was still well attached, and I let it go. I let it wander until I realized: it had taken control of an extremely powerful being. It was using mind control, and on this particular demon-mind control should not have been possible.

"When the energy source used said demon to its advantage, I went to retrieve it only to find that it had disappeared and I had missed my chance to extinguish the threat." Yuji gulped and continued to listen intently "But I knew-I **knew** that one day it would show up again in the same place. 'Return to the scene of the crime' as humans say. So I did something stupid, something **really** and **excruciatingly** stupid…I sent Jessy there. I figured Jessy was strong enough to handle the power. I thought 'There is no way a single energy can enter a god's mind. And Jessy would be the most difficult to get into…'"

He trailed off and clenched his fists, popping his knuckles, a shadow passed across his face and Yuji thought he wouldn't continue so he spoke up "Were you wrong?" Gojyo's red eyes snapped to the boy with a fierce glare.

"Almost." He growled lowly, out of anger with himself "And we almost lost her. For a moment, I could tell that he had a light grip on Jessy's mind. We could all feel it. But Jessy **was** strong enough to break through, and build a mental barrier. She isn't aware of this exactly, and she hasn't voiced it, but she knows something went wrong down there." He grinned bitterly "She's just a child and yet so strong."

He smiled at Goku "You sure know how to breed 'em, Mr. Equal to Heaven Son Goku." Goku grinned and shook his head.

"She's strong all on her own, Gojyo." He replied softly.

"How strong is Jessy?" Yuji asked suddenly.

"Jessy…" Hakkai began "Is almost as powerful as Buddha himself." Yuji felt his jaw drop "Should Jessy ever feel the need to…she could probably take Buddha's place. She could create her own world, and destroy all the others. The coronet she wears around her head isn't just for decoration; it's actually to contain her immense power. She's very much like her father in that way." Goku yet again shook his head.

"C'mooon, Goku." Gojyo teased "Don't be modest. You know you have the mighty seed of awesomeness." Goku chuckled.

"Can't lie."

That seemed to lighten the mood enough for Yuji to pry some more "But I didn't notice her wearing it when she was on earth."

"She hides it behind her bangs." Gojyo resolved before he finished his story "Well, the same power decided that it should move on. Move on to the next strongest force-Ranma. Who is the highest class demon there is, just below a god. When he dies, he'll come straight here and will be made into a god. That's how strong he is. But like I was saying, the energy tried to control his mind, but Ranma realized what was happening and attempted to stop it, very much like Jessy had. But it didn't work, not exactly at least. Because then the power and Ranma's defiance erupted into a battle in Ranma's head, causing him to go berserk.

"Had he not run away from you, you would be dead and Ranma would still be running around insanely. Heaven is a sanctuary against all things, so we knew he would be safe here. And that, dear children, concludes Daddy's explanation." Gojyo gave a half-hearted chuckle before grinning at Yuji "So, what'll it be, kiddo? Are you going to stay here with Ranma until he's better or are you going to be a horse's ass and force us to treat you like a Guantanamo Bay victim?" Yuji gulped loudly and gazed at the three men in the room.

"I still don't understand…" he said "How is that **I** am more important to Ranma than his mother?"

"Ranma is out of sorts with his mother, Yuji." Goku answered "She was not allowed to come here until she straightens out her thoughts and her act. Ranma is an important demon. As the mother of such an important child, Botan will have to make an important decision since Ranma's father is not present. She must choose between her son and herself, unless Ranma's father becomes a major part of the child's life.

"Botan is at that critical stage right now. This is why we have separated them, and brought you here instead. Ranma is comatose right now, but soon he will awaken and loneliness cannot be an option for him. You are the most important person, other than bloodlines, in his life. You must also make the decision." Yuji stared at Goku, his golden eyes were shining brightly from extreme happiness.

Despite the morbid circumstance, the monkey king was happy to have his daughter back. With her safely in his sight, Goku was at ease. Which is why he was so calm. It was the reason Gojyo was grinning, it was the reason Sanzo was in the kitchen with Jessy, laughing as she stuffed her mouth with cookies, and it was the reason why Hakkai could not stop smiling. Jessy was back and their odd ball family was complete.

Since the cheerful emotion had taken the room hostage it captivated Yuji. He could tell they were happy, though they were speaking of war and death. This is what Heaven was. This is why Ranma was safe, and would wake up happy as well. Along with this and the fact that Yuji was an important person in Ranma's life made the young Urameshi choose.

"I'll stay. I'll stay with Ranma. For as long as I can"


	15. Chaptire 15

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Saiyuki, or Journey to the West. They all belong to their respective owners

Enjoy Chaptire 15: From the Hell Below Us

Bam, Bitch, Bam

Jessy and Sanzo walked out of the kitchen quietly, walking out of Goku's castle and down the cloud-covered path of a road towards Kanzeon Bosatsu's own home. They snuck in, just as quietly, ensuring Sanzo's delightful hermaphrodite cousin was not in the throne room, and they went in. It wasn't that they didn't care for the Merciful Goddess, they just couldn't tolerate her incessant snickers about "How cute a couple they will make when Jessy is all grown up!"

The thought of those words irked Sanzo's nerves so much that the tick in his forehead throbbed painfully. Jessy glanced at him and grinned as she pulled his hand towards the lily pond, urging him to come with her and gaze into the waters. With a calming sigh the yellow-haired god smirked and sat at the edge with the little girl.

They peered into the blue waters and watched silently as they began to swirl and clear, moving to the side like a curtain to reveal the Human World below. They waited patiently as the waters searched for the town they wanted to check on. It took only a moment for the crystal waters to show them Yusuke, screaming and punching whatever was closest.

Yusuke Urameshi had felt pain of both the physical and emotional kind, but never before had it hurt so much as the pain he felt now. Having his son taken from him was a fate worse than…well…death, which had not even been so painful. This was…unbearable. He had screamed at Koenma for a whole twenty minutes, before finally Keiko came out to see what was wrong. When she found her son had been kidnapped she fell to the ground and sobbed.

She cried and begged Heaven to bring him back. But her prayers were ignored. It had taken a while to get Keiko to sleep, to rest and hide from this pain. He stood outside their closed bedroom door and closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears from running freely. He had to be strong. He **had** to be.

It had been two days, Koenma and the others convinced him to be still, to wait for the right moment. But it was so **damn hard!** He pushed his fingers into his eyes, and removed them when the pain was too much to bear. He pushed off from the door angrily wand walked downstairs to grab his car keys. He glanced at the clock.

11:17 pm

He knew it was late. He knew Koenma had told him to steer clear from Botan, just in case the god were there. But Yusuke didn't care. This was, after all, _her_ fault.

He grabbed is coat and shoved it on roughly but stopped and turned around quickly at the sound of someone else in the room. It was Yuki.

Yuki stood there with curious eyes, blinking slowly. His stomach had started hurting at the absence of his twin, some sort of psychic connection between the boys, but Yusuke and Yuki were grateful for the tender link. It let them know Yuji was alive and alright. They didn't know what would happen if he was dead, but Yuki would be able to tell.

The two stared at each other silently for a long time, as if studying one another. But the silence was aggravating, it made Yuki nervous to an uncomfortable extent "Dad," he said groggily "Are you going to that lady's house? To **Ranma's** house?" Yusuke gulped and gave a curt nod. "C-can I come?"

"No, Yuki." Yusuke said softly, as if it were difficult to emit anything but angry screams from his mouth. He heard Yuki sniffle and realized his son was trying not to cry "Look, we're going to get him back. I promise, okay? I **promise**."

"But you don't know for sure, dad!" Yuki exclaimed "I mean…Koenma said it himself! He said we don't even know if the gods are there at Ranma's house or whatever, and gods are…they're super strong, ya know? You can't…you just can't go running blindly like that! You have to…you have to think things through!"

Yusuke stared with wide eyes as Yuki broke down, letting his barrier that was so similar to Yusuke's collapse into tiny pieces as if it had never been there. It was hard to watch. It was hard to hear words of wisdom spurt forth from the boy who was so much like him, who was not supposed to have any words of wisdom! Who was supposed to be rash and spontaneous.

It wasn't fair. It simply was not **fucking fair.**

Yusuke strode forward and gathered Yuki in a tight hug, tears falling freely down his scarred face. "No, he whispered harshly "No, Yuki. Don't cry. I need you…I need you to be **strong**. I need you to be **constant** for me. I need you to be the same, goofy kid that's so much like it's almost fucking nauseating. I don't want you to break down and cry like this. You have to be the rock right now. When I'm gone, you have to be the one to take care of your brothers and your mom. You have to be…"

"…Me?" Yuki finished stuffily, his face pressed firmly against his father's blue jean jacket, making it damp with his tears. He felt Yusuke nod and kiss him on the top of his head scruffily before letting him go and turning away.

"I'll be back soon, Yuki." He said briskly as he walked out the front door to his car. Yuki stifled a sob and ran to the window to watch his father leave.

"You better be back, dad." He whispered in an almost defeated tone.

I think I may be too cruel, sometimes

Botan sat on the couch in the dark, allowing herself to succumb to the mixed emotions she felt. Silent tears ran down her soft cheeks, her eyes stung and her lip was bleeding in great quantities as she bit it. But she made no inclination to straighten herself up.

Her stomach growled from hunger. She hadn't eaten for two days. She felt weak. But she still did not want to move.

It hurt.

That was all she knew at the moment. She only recognized pain of having Ranma taken away from her, and it hurt even more to know it was **her** fault. Another clamor of sobs escaped from her lips, she fell to her side on the couch and cried. Clutching a pillow that smelled like Ranma to her chest, she cried and screamed.

She was so stupid! Why, oh **why** had she let herself give into temptation?! She was a moron who didn't deserve her holy son.

Yes, he was holy. He was pure and perfect, and she had besmirched him with her sickening behavior. The house was filthy, not just literally, but spiritually too. For the past couple of months, she had noticed it whenever she came home from the putrid world that was outside her home.

She had noticed how pure the house was with Ranma and Jessy around. It was so excruciatingly untainted that it almost hurt. It almost made her feel…angry. No, not _almost_ she _had been_ angry. She loathed the wholesome feeling that surrounded her when she came home.

Subconsciously, she had begun to run from it. She thought the reason for always leaving the house was to be closer to Ken, but that was only a front! In actuality, Botan was always finding a reason to escape this holy house was because she needed to be away from the sacred place.

Another wave of sobs ran over Botan as she came to realize this. How stupid she was! How very, very stupid. How could she have been so blind? She was a monster. No wonder Ranma wanted to kill her two days ago, he had only wanted to purify his contaminated being.

He should not have stopped. Why did he stop? Why had he not just dug his holy fingers into the very flesh that bore him? The unholy flesh that bore that beautiful soul, that beautiful heart, that beautiful mentality, that beautiful and holy child! She was unworthy, and she knew it.

He knew it. But he never said a word. The words that had left his mouth so angrily were only out of pity, he had been trying to wake her up! To bring her back from temptation.

Botan sat up suddenly, the sound of a car pulling into her driveway went unheard, she stood and walked toward the stairs. She ignored the pieces of glass that cut her small feet as she walked through the living room and ascended the stairs. She walked to the attic door and pulled it down. She climbed the wooden ladder and into the freezing attic, she moved to the doors that hid the balcony, pulling them open a flurry of snowflakes soared in, hitting her hot flesh and melting. She ignored them.

She stepped onto the balcony, the old wood under her feat groaned threateningly, but by this point, her ears were deaf to the sound. She didn't even hear the calls below, screaming her name. She climbed to the roof blindly, her thin black dress fluttering in the wind that was so much stronger now. A storm was approaching.

The wind pulled the black ribbon from her hair, and it wavered wildly in the air like the waves of the oceans. The snow was thick on the roof, and freezing, but she was already numb. She was at the top of the house. She looked down, but really saw nothing except eh black abyss that was beckoning her like.

Her arms went out to the side, as if she were flying. Her face remained passive as she closed her eyes and sighed before letting herself go limp.

She was falling forward.

Embrace the Solitude

Hiei had watched as Yusuke got into the car and drove off. He followed him at break-neck speed. Yusuke was already a speed demon when clear-headed, so when his mind was flooded with angst at the loss of his son, he was almost too dangerous for even Hiei. But he knew where the man was going.

He knew what Yusuke had in mind. He was going to see Botan. Even Hiei had been tempted to sneak off with Yusuke and go. But he had to stop him this time.

Yuji's life was at risk, and perhaps, even Ranma's.

Yes, Hiei and Kurama had made the connection, much too late of course, but they had made it. Hiei realized who the boy was now, and why he felt such a connection him. It was because Ranma Death, was Hiei's son.

Nobody knew but Hiei, at this point. He had not told the others what he had done. What sin he had committed. How all of this was Hiei's fault.

Because he was too much of a coward. A drop of frosty condensation hit Hiei's cheek. It was snowing.

Hiei tore his eyes away from Yusuke's speeding car and glanced behind his shoulder. Kurama was following in his own red corvette.

He was coming for Botan. Hiei cursed under his breath and quickened his pace. He could not risk losing sight of Yusuke by attempting to stop Kurama.

Yusuke pulled up to a very large and handsome house, one that had to be at least three stories. It was massive. Obviously belonging to the wealthy. The sound of a car door slamming shut forced Hiei to avert his eyes from the mansion and on to Yusuke, who was marching up the driveway, screaming.

"BOTAN! GET OUT HERE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR IMMATURITY! GET OUT HERE AND ACE ME!" he bellowed, his voice echoed up and down the street, through the thick and handsome trees. Hiei shot down from one of them in front of the very man he was following.

Kurama skidded into the driveway simultaneously, he got out of his car and ran foreword to meet them.

"Yusuke," Hiei said, struggling to remain calm. His heart was racing "Calm yourself, we can't take this risk. What if the Gods **have** Yuji in there? They could easily kill him and escape back to Heaven." Yusuke grunted and glared at the house over Hiei's shoulder.

"But-"

Hiei whipped his head around as Kurama ran past him to the door. "KURAMA!" he screamed "Get away from there! You can't-"

"Back off, Hiei!" Kurama snarled angrily, his eyes flashing silver made Hiei stop in his tracks "I have to know whose child that is! I have to see her! I have to know why she left!"

Hiei felt another stab of guilt so powerful it made his heart ache, he gripped his chest with a grunt and winced. "Hiei, what's happening to you? What's wrong?" Concern laced Kurama's voice as he stepped forward, Hiei had dropped to the ground. "Wait, let me get-"

"BOTAN!" Yusuke's scream made the other two men turn towards him, his eyes were wide with shock and he was pointing to the roof. "BOTAN! GET DOWN! YOU'LL FALL! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! GET THE FUCK DOWN! BOTAN!" Hiei and Kurama joined him, Hiei ignored the stabbing pain and the insistent whispering in his head.

Botan was standing on the roof, gazing at the dark sky, her hair flowing in the wind, and black dress fluttering wildly. She had only the thin dress on. She spread her arms.

"BOTAN! PLEASE! GET DOWN!" Kurama screeched shrilly "What is she thinking?!"

But that was the thing, Botan wasn't thinking. She wasn't seeing. She wasn't hearing. She wasn't feeling. She was going to jump.

Hiei realized it before everyone else, and he moved, fast. She let herself fall forward, but Hiei jumped onto the roof and pulled her back. She screamed at the touch and snapped her eyes open.

Her irises went wide and she went silent, gazing finally at something. Hiei. She was staring at Hiei and remained so for what seemed an eternity.

And then…

She screamed and writhed around din his arms, trying to get away. "NO! NO! STOP TOUCHING ME! IT BURNS! IT HURTS! STOP TOUCHING ME! DON'T DO IT AGAIN, HIEI! PLEASE STOP HURTING ME, YOU'RE HURTING ME! IT BURNS! IT BURNS! DON'T TOUCH ME!"

Hiei tried to soothe her, he tried to calm her but the longer he held her the more she writhed. The more she screamed, the more she cried, the more she begged. The more she **hurt**. With great effort, Hiei dropped to the ground safely, with her thrashing in his arms. Kurama took her and held her close, whispering soothingly in her ear as they walked into the house.

She began to sob quietly, mumbling incoherent words. She clutched desperately at Kurama, as if she never wanted to let go. As if she were trying to make sense of the world around her, trying to suck his warmth through flesh. Soon she fell asleep in his arms and for the first time in a long time Kurama felt at peace.

Yusuke stared compassionately at the former ferry girl. Once, she had been a bubbly woman who always said silly things like "Bingo!" and "You got it!" with such a sweet smile. She was the sunshine that everyone always wanted in their life. The best of friends, the sunlight on a grave.

And then that sunlight was gone. But they found it! They found their sun!

…Broken. And dull. And altogether…defeated. She was a mess.

It was several hours before Botan awoke, feeling extremely warm. She was running a fever. And she was resting against someone familiar. She blinked the room into focus, taking several moments to gather her thoughts.

She stared into the sleeping face of the man holding her. Kurama. She gasped and pushed off from him only to collapse on the floor, dizzy from her fever. She groaned, catching the attention of Kurama who awoke immediately hearing her voice. He crouched down next to her and smiled.

"Botan," he breathed quietly, resting a hand to her forehead "you're burning up, lie back down and I'll get a wash-cloth. Botan shivered and did as she was told. Glancing around the room she found that things had been straightened up. The broken contents that were scattered across the room from Ranma's burst of anger were no longer there. She sighed and laid on her back, staring up at the spinning ceiling.

The reality of what was going on hit her. Kurama and the others had found her. They would ask questions. Questions she didn't want to answer. Not at all.

Kurama walked into the kitchen and rummaged around Botan's kitchen drawers for the towels. Hiei and Yusuke watched him mildly interested. Kurama caught their stares. "Botan is running a fever." He answered to their silent questions "would one of you watch over her while I'm looking for a wash cloth?"

Yusuke volunteered Hiei.

The black haired demon glared daggers at Yusuke but obliged nonetheless. He walked into the living room slowly and quietly, surveying the space. The fireplace crackled invitingly, extending its warmth throughout the house.

He walked around the couch, running his hands over the soft white material. Botan lay there, staring up at the ceiling, her violet eyes at half mast. Hiei kneeled down beside her, placing his hands over one of hers. She was freezing.

Botan turned her head at the touch. She blinked slowly "Hiei…" she whispered drowsily.

Hiei gulped down the lump in his throat "Yeah," he whispered just as softly.

"They took him, you know." She said "They took him because…I'm not good like him. I don't deserve him."

"Who?"

Botan sighed and closed her eyes, tears were falling. Hiei wiped them away gently with the back of his hand and she shivered "Ranma. They took my baby."

Hiei went frigid "Who did, Botan?" she turned her face away and began to shake with more sobs "Who took Ranma, Botan?"

"**They** did." She answered sounding a bit crazy at that point "They took my son…They took **your** son, Hiei. Ranma's always wanted a dad. And I tried to give him one…but **they** didn't like that. **They** only wanted you as the dad, Hiei. Because you are his dad. Hiei…you know you're his dad. You're Ranma's dad…Ranma's dad is you…"

Botan then slipped into ramblings, repeating the words "Hiei is Ranma's father" oddly, saying the words out of order. Disappearing further into the delirium of her fever.

However before she slipped into her hallucinating state Kurama and Yusuke had walked into the room. Hearing every word, Kurama dropped the damp cloth, letting it fall between his fingers and onto the floor. At the sound, Hiei stood up and stared at them.

"Hiei…you are…Ranma is **your-**" Kurama trailed off and furrowed his brow, gathering his thoughts "How? When did you and she, did you **know?!**"

"Hiei…father…Ranma" Botan muttered, plucking at her necklace.

"Kurama, you must understand." Hiei began, raising his voice slightly as Botan continued her mantra "It was…I never intended to hurt you. Botan didn't-she just did not…"

"And BOTAN!" Kurama bellowed "SHE BETRAYED ME! AND ALL THIS TIME! ALL THIS TIME I HAVE BEEN SO WORRIED ABOUT HER!"

"Kurama, **no**. Botan did not-"

"HOW COULD SHE DO THIS TO ME?! HOW COULD _YOU_ DO THIS TO ME?!" Kurama was going red, his anger rising.

Botan continued to ramble and then she was screaming, as if wanting to be heard. And then suddenly she stopped and sat up, her eyes clouded. She was no longer seeing anyone. She cocked her head to the side "Hiei?" she said in an almost child-like voice "Why did you do that to me?"

Hiei stared at her clouded eyes, her voice was somehow…different. "Botan…what's wrong with you?"

Botan blinked and then began to laugh, not the sweet laughter they had once known, no. This was the laughter of…a lunatic. She was laughing hysterically, eyes cloudy and silver. "Oh Hiei! You're so funny!" she giggled madly "What's wrong with _me?_ Why are you asking me that? Shouldn't you be asking yourself that question?'

"Botan," Yusuke said worriedly, rushing to her side, he gripped her hands "Botan, you need to rest. You're running a fever."

Botan raised her eyebrows and smiled at Yusuke "Ah! Yusuke! You're here! I'm so happy to see you!" her hand went smartly across his face "Damn you! Look what you made me do, Hiei!" she looked up at the red-eyed demon "You know your son, Hiei, he's gay! Yeah! With _this_ man's son!" she looked back at Yusuke whose cheek was red and throbbing.

She slapped him again.

"Botan, stop this." Hiei urged "What's wrong with you? This isn't the fever doing this. You're acting crazy!"

"CRAZY?!" Botan shrieked sharply "The only reason I am 'crazy,' Hiei, is because of you! You did this to me!"

"What dies she mean, Hiei?" Yusuke asked sharply, spitting out a small amount of blood. Botan had hit him hard.

"What?" Botan asked in mock-surprise "You haven't told them, Hiei?"

"Told us what?" Kurama snapped.

"Oh, Kurama, my sweet, sweet Kurama." Botan mused, standing up and holding her arms out towards him "You think I betrayed you? No, never. I didn't do it on purpose." She walked towards him and giggled hysterically "I love you, Kurama. I would never, ever intentionally hurt you." She snapped her head insanely towards Hiei, smiling wickedly "**Hiei betrayed you**." She giggled.

"He came into my house and **raped me**." She turned back towards Kurama "And knocked me up with Ranma. You didn't know?"

Botan's eyes went wide and violet once more, losing their murkiness as a shuddering and guttural moan ran through her before her eyes rolled up into her head and she collapsed in Kurama's arms.

The three men stood very still and very quiet, none of them moving save for the rise and fall of their chests as they breathed. When Kurama took a step towards the couch, the other two jumped violently. Yusuke's eyes were narrowed in the dim light of the fire, the orange and reds reflecting deliciously on his brown eyes. He glanced at Kurama who avoided his gaze as he set Botan on the couch gently, placing the cool cloth on her forehead.

His back was turned on Hiei, so the red-eyed demon had no idea of the expression on his friend's face. And with his Jagan damaged from Jessy's earlier attack, he couldn't read his mind either. So he was taken by surprise when Kurama turned at break-neck speed and attacked Hiei full force, throwing him across the room towards the fire.

Hiei barely managed to catch himself before being consumed by the threatening flames, he gasped as Yusuke also attacked from the side, his bone-shattering punch missing Hiei's head by a mere inch. Hiei bolted towards the door, Yusuke jumped in front of him, forcing Hiei to skid on the wooden hallway floor. He turned around and attempted to run for the kitchen, bursting through the shoji screen door that separated the living room and the dining room.

Kurama was a step ahead, however, and managed to latch his whip around Hiei's ankle, thorns pierced flesh and Hiei screamed in pain. He had to overcome it as Yusuke's shout of "Spirit Gun!" rang through the house, reverberating off the walls, grazing Hiei's back, ripping his shirt and exposing his smarting skin. "I won't miss this time, Hiei!" Yusuke shouted.

Another lashing form Kurama's whip hit Hiei in the chest, he screamed in agony and fell to his knees. Kurama pulled his arm back for another but Hiei grabbed the thorned flog, blood running liberally down his arm, and yanked hard, pulling the red-haired halfling to the floor. Taking the opportunity, of Yusuke's steered spirit bullet to avoid Kurama, Hiei ran through the kitchen and into the pantry.

"What the hell-" he muttered angrily only to be shocked when he pressed a wall that turned into another cupboard for stairs. He whipped his head around at the sound of Yusuke and Kurama bursting in. He took the stairs leading downwards.

He didn't notice the pantry shut back to its original state as he descended into the dark. The steps beneath his feet were sandstone, the walls as well, the pathway was narrow and winding and dark. He didn't know where it led, but he silently wished it led to safety.

Hiei's eyes were so adjusted to the dark by that point he barely noticed the dim light coming from below. The stairs were no longer rough and unsteady, but smooth and sure. The walls began to feel like tall pillars of cool marble. And soon, Hiei was in a well lit room of cool blue light.

The room was large and ornate, with several paintings of the Bodhisattvas claiming the ceiling. As Hiei took in everything he realized what room this was. It was Botan's **treasure** room. Scattered on the floor in large piles were gold and silver coins, paper money, gold blocks, golden statues, rubies, diamonds, and other jewels of all variations. There were pearls and emerald-encrusted scales from dragons, and golden weights of different sizes.

There was also a small table on which the scales Botan used to measure how much she needed to take out of the room. Hiei had never seen so much beautiful things. He wandered the round room and found in a large trunk were kimonos and saris of unbelievably expensive silks, silks so fine they had to be from a different century.

Along one of the walls he realized there were several swords. Swords demons and humans alike would kill for. These were all swords…from the gods. The whole room itself was a gift from the gods. Hiei approached the swords, so enticing in all their sheathed glory, but stopped himself short when he noticed a particular large chest full of jade dishes. There was a slight breeze coming from it.

He reached out a hand to touch the armoire, only to find it moved to his gentle touch. Pushing it aside, the draft became stronger as it revealed another marble path way. It led **outside**. With a longing glance back at the swords, he fought the thief within himself and followed the path.

Knocking on Heaven's door…almost literally

Jessy giggled and sat up, stretching her arms. "Well!" she groaned softly at the stretch of her lithe muscles "I'm sure glad I'm not down there."

Sanzo smirked in agreement "It's Hell down there."

And from somewhere down on earth, a demon was laughing shrilly, staring greedily up at the sky. He blew a kiss and grinned, baring his pointed teeth "FROM THE HELL BELOW, MY DARLING GODS!"

TBC

AN: well, everyone, thanks so much for following this lovely little chapter. It was kinda…weird, I admit. But, hey. You gotta love it? Neh? My authors notes will become shorter and shorter. Possibly. Haha. If you have any questions you know where to find me!


	16. Chaptire 16

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respectful owners.

Special thanks to Hakkai and Gojyo (David and Denise), for so much inspiration and for such a great friendship. Thanks a bunch you guys, and remember: What Would Buddha Do?

AN: Alright everyone, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far? I'm sorry for the delay with this chapter but I was in a bit of a funk. I'll be sure to make this chapter super interesting for you! D By the way…The Myspace account I had for my stories has been cancelled, due to Myspace being assholes. The one listed as my webpage is my private one.

Now please enjoy Chaptire 16: The Dragon Awakens

bang

The room was hazy, and very bright. But it was comforting. Ranma breathed slowly, gazing around the white marble room being well aware that he was in Heaven. He sighed and sat up slowly.

He was alone at the moment, but he could sense several other energies outside his door. With a large yawn he got out of bed but with much difficulty considering he had been in a coma for over a month now and had not been moving around. He groaned at the stiffness in his legs and groaned even louder when he realized he was naked.

Ranma cocked (AN: heh) an eyebrow and walked to the large white dresser to find it void of all clothes. He searched the rest of the room for any clothes but found none, instead he found a note in Jessy's handwriting "I couldn't help myself." With a shout of frustration and anger Ranma ran to the balcony still in his birthday suit and scanned the gardens.

He didn't see the little girl but he did find the next best thing: Goku, who was standing next to Gojyo apparently laughing at something. "GOKU!" he bellowed while shaking a fist "WHERE THE HELL IS YOUR RETARDED DAUGHTER?!"

Goku smiled broadly up at him "Oh, Ranma, I'm glad to see you're finally awake!" he shouted back "I'm not sure where she is at the moment, but may I ask what she has done to make you so angry?"

The vein in Ranma's forehead throbbed vigorously as he retorted "I'M ANGRY BECAUSE I'M STANDING ON THE BALCONY WITH MY COCK HANGING OUT SINCE JESSY TOOK MY FUCKING CLOTHES!" Goku and Gojyo erupted into laughter causing Ranma's anger to find new heights. With another furious scream he marched back into the room and wrenched the door off the hinges before stomping into the hallway.

The guards both jumped violently and attempted to console him but they immediately backed away with the feral glare Ranma tossed in their direction. He proceeded to march down the hallway, marble falling apart with the intense energy he was emitting. Somehow, despite never having been to Heaven before, Ranma knew exactly where to find Jessy's room. When he kicked the door open he found her sitting at a table in the center of the room having tea with Sanzo.

Neither of them showed any surprise at his entry. Jessy smiled serenely and asked him if he'd like a cup of tea. He glared and the tea cup in her hand shattered, she pouted "That wasn't very nice." Ranma cocked an eyebrow.

"Give. Me. My. Clothes." He ordered menacingly, Jessy rolled her eyes and moved to a dresser that was identical to Ranma's, save that it was two times larger. After digging around in one of the many drawers she pulled out several silk saris, wraps and shoes of various styles and colors.

Ranma grabbed them from her with yet another glare and began to change, ignoring the fact that she was seemingly unabashed by his nudity. But he figured it was because she had been the one who had undressed him and she had seen him in more compromising situations anyway. Like the time when she walked in on he and Yuji…

_Yuji._

When the teenager's thoughts fell upon the human boy he felt a slight ache in his chest. He wouldn't be able to see Yuji again for a long time…possibly ever. Jessy rejoined Sanzo at the table, and they both caught Ranma subconsciously rubbing a hand over his heart while he dressed.

Sanzo raised his eyebrows when he caught Jessy's gaze, she smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Hey Ranma?" she started in as sweet of a voice as she could muster, Sanzo snorted but said nothing.

"What is it, monkey?" he snapped back, still seething from the clothes-escapade.

"Do you miss Yuji?" Ranma stiffened but made no inclination to answer, Jessy's smirk widened into an evil grin "Well, do you?"

"What business is it of yours, Jessy?"

"I was just wondering…" Jessy pouted and played with the broken pieces of her tea cup "I bet he misses you…I bet he thinks about you every day."

"Jessy, you're irritating me." Ranma had a low growl in his voice but that only spurned Jessy's amusement.

"Aw, sad day. You do miss him, right?" She grinned again "Because Gojyo says you would miss having your Hershey highway plowed-"

"YUJI IS IN THE FUCKING THRONE ROOM." Sanzo cut her off, not enjoying the way the conversation was headed, Jessy stared at Sanzo appalled.

"Oh, Sanzo you spoiled my fun!" she whined "I wanted to mess with him some more!" But Ranma heard no more, having bolted towards the throne room with his spare clothes lying on Jessy's bedroom floor.

He really had no idea where he was going, he was just following his senses. Scanning the entire castle for Yuji's energy posed difficult at the moment with all the gods who inhabited Heaven and having just woken up from a month-long coma he was lacking control over his senses and energy.

So it took him near an hour to come upon the large oak doors that opened into the throne room. He was almost out of energy when he pushed the heavy doors open wide, there were several people in the room, all eyes turned to him. He coughed and fell to his knees bitterly weak, when he looked up he found that Yuji and Hakkai were rushing towards him.

He gave a weak smile before passing out.

Bang, Bang, that **awful** sound

(A month ago)

Hiei wandered out of the long underground tunnel, thankful for fresh air and sunlight. He wasn't sure how long he had been down there but had he not been a demon he was sure it would have taken him **months**. Perhaps that was the defense mechanism of it?

Only a demon could have made it out in time before either starving to death or dying of dehydration. It didn't really matter, what did matter was that the others now knew of his terrible sin. They knew what he had done to Botan.

Recognizable voices caught his attention. He jumped in the nearest tree and hid safely behind a thick branch. When he checked back he realized he was only in the woods beyond Botan's house and that the voices had carried from an open window. It was Yusuke yelling about something.

Botan was upstairs sleeping soundly with Keiko and Yukina watching over her while Yusuke and the others were downstairs, looking over some papers Koenma had brought to them. "If we're in war, then we should know exactly what we're getting into." Koenma was informing "This has only happened once…well…"

"Well **what**?" Yusuke demanded.

"Well…It didn't happen like this." Koenma responded, his patience failing him slightly "It was so long ago before I was even born. It was when Goku caused havoc in Heaven…that was the closest thing to war Heaven and the Spirit World has ever experienced. And this…well…this time we don't have anyone to capture Goku. Not anyone strong enough, at least."

Yusuke glowered angrily at the papers "Then what the fuck is this shit?"

"This '_shit,_' Yusuke, happens to be out ticket to getting Yuji back." Koenma snapped "This shows that there is a sort of loop hole to getting into Heaven without actually dying or being a god."

"How does it work?" Kuwabara asked, moving much too close to the prince for his liking.

"Well, there is only one time Heaven can be opened safely." Koenma informed slowly "And when I mean 'one time' I mean only once…forever. It's a portal that connects Spirit World to Heaven, it only stay open for… an hour at the most."

"An hour?" Kurama frowned "Well then I assume we will have to move _extremely_ fast? It's our only means of escaping back to the Spirit World, isn't it?"

Koenma nodded "Yes. When it closes back up, it closes forever."

"What happens if we can't get out?" Kuwabara brought up.

"Then the gods kill you." All the men turned at the sound of the voice. It was Botan, coming down the stairs in a white night gown, her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders. Keiko and Yukina followed her down the stairs. Everyone stared at her, she was extremely pale and her cheeks were sunk in slightly.

Kurama grabbed her arm gently and helped her to a chair "You shouldn't do this, Koenma. You know how the gods are. If they would kill the Merciful Goddess's nephew, the war god and his second command a thousand years ago, they will have no qualms killing any of you." She stared meaningfully at Koenma. "I'm begging you, please. Don't do this."

"But Botan, we can try to get Ranma back, too." Yusuke added but Botan shook her head.

"No, Yusuke." She replied "You can't take Ranma away from Heaven. He needs to be there right now, he's safe there from what's been hurting him." She bit her lip "And Yuji will be safe there, too. Despite what the gods told you he is not a prisoner of war, nor is he a pet. I'm sure they took him to be with Ranma."

"If they were to take anyone for Ranma why didn't they take you, Botan?" Keiko brought out, Botan winced at her words and the room erupted in silence.

"Because I'm the one hurting him." Botan replied after a long moment, nobody knew what to say to her. The pain on her face was unmistakable; it was almost unbearable to see. After several more long moments she dismissed herself and went back upstairs to bed with Keiko and Yukina behind her.

When they were out of ear shot the men continued to plan "What does it take for the portal to open, Koenma?" Yusuke asked.

"Heavy concentration of spirit energy, it would be best to do this from my office." Koenma answered "I want all of you to rest up tonight, we're going to be in for some vigorous training for a while."

Hiei listened intently from outside the window, frowning. Training? Fine. If they would train, then so would he. And he would certainly stay close to Botan. And when he got Ranma back, he would stay close to him too. He was going to make this right.

He swore it.

Bang, Bang. I hit the Ground. Bang, bang. My baby shot me down

AN: Thanks for reading, guys! I know this was kind of short and sloppy, but the next chapter will be coming up soon! KThanksBye

Please review

PS: Gojyo, Hershey Highway.


	17. Chaptire 17

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respectful owners.

AN: Yes, yes…I know. It's been over a year since I updated. So I figured that I should post this chapter. Yes? Yes. Mmmmmmkay! Here it is everyone!

**Chaptire 17: The Fox in the Snow**

_I just want to feel…safe in my own skin…_

Botan was sitting in bed alone, the covers wrapped around her tightly, when her cell phone rang. She recognized the specific ring tone she had for the caller, it was Ken. The first call was easily ignored, the second was somewhat tough and the third was just irritating, so by the _thirteenth_ call she was ready to bash her head in with the damn thing. When she finally answered Ken gave a sigh of relief at the sound of her voice.

"It's so good to hear your voice!" He breathed "Did Ranma come home? Is everything alright now?" Botan didn't answer immediately, she bit her lip and wondered how she should respond.

After a long moment she answered tentatively "Well," she closed her eyes, fighting tears "He'll be spending some time with his uncle. I think its best for both of us. What I've done to him is…unforgivable, Kenichi."

"Falling in love is unforgivable?" He scoffed.

Botan frowned "No," she snapped "But falling in love with the wrong person is." Ken went silent.

"I'm…the wrong person, eh?"

"I'm thinking so." Botan sighed "I'm sorry, I know we've been through a lot together but my son comes first, I'm ashamed of myself for forgetting that." Ken remained silent "Kenichi, I'm sorry." More silence. "I'm hanging up now."

"DON'T HANG UP ON ME." Ken snarled "You think you can just dump me like this? Who do you think you are?" Botan didn't know how to react "This isn't over. This will never be over."

"Kenichi," she breathed "I-" She was cut off by a loud click as he hung up. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Botan, are you alright? May I come in?" It was Kurama, his soft voice was comforting, even through the thick wood door. When allowed entry he closed the door silently behind him and sat at the foot of the bed. "I heard your phone ringing."

"Ah," the blue haired woman said softly "So you heard some of the conversation, as well." Kurama nodded.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Botan shook her head and grabbed hold of his hand. The contact sent a small shiver down the fox's spine. He gripped tightly to her hand as he brought it to his lips "God, Botan…" he closed his eyes as she touched his cheek "I've missed you _so_ much."

Botan wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder as she had done in the past countless times before "I've missed _this_," she sobbed "I didn't want to leave…But I _had to_ for Ranma. I couldn't let him know what happened. And I refused to ruin your friendship with Hiei."

Kurama shook his head "He was never really my friend, now was he?" he growled "Doing that to you…I'll kill him the moment I see him again."

"I…" Botan bit her lip again "don't think he was completely himself that night."

"You're _defending _him?

"No." she said defiantly "I'm just trying to make some sense out of the situation. Kurama, I'm so confused and angry with myself for hurting my child, for thing you, for hurting everyone. I've done more harm than good, and now I'm paying for it. I might not ever see my son again!" A strangled sob escaped her and she hid her face in her hands. "There's something going on, and I have no idea what it is. All this time I've felt this...this…this _dark force_ present, and recently it's just been growing!"

"What do you mean 'dark force'?" Kurama asked.

"It's as if there's someone in my head half the time, telling me what to do. I'm worried that I'm going crazy or something!" She cried "I'm not trying to say I'm not at fault for the things I've done, because I take full responsibility for my actions, but there's _someone_ or _something_ watching me. Watching _everyone_. And I think even Ranma was aware of it. I'm so worried, Kurama. If I'm not in control of myself, then someone could easily make me hurt someone I care about."

Kurama listened to his former fiancée's words without interruption, trying to make sense of what she was saying. Trying to make a connection. She told him about the moment when Ranma had attempted to strangle her, and how he had run into the street, screaming in agony and she told him what the gods had told her before they left.

"Botan," he soothed when she had run out of breath "we'll get Ranma back.." He pulled her into his embrace "I promise you, we will return him home safely."

"No!" she sobbed "He can't be near me! I'll only hurt him…I can't do that. Besides, the gods are too strong, you won't be able to defeat them and rescue the boys. They won't hesitate to kill you, especially Goku and his gang."

"You forget who you're dealing with," Kurama chuckled "We're all too stubborn for our own good." Botan gave a small laugh "If you had only seen how stubborn I was at trying to find you." Botan sniffled and held him tighter.

"I can imagine…" she mused allowed in a soft whisper "I wanted to contact you…I wanted you to be Ranma's father…but Goku said it would be best not to do so."

"He was stupid for saying that." Kurama replied "I would have cared for Ranma as if he were my own." He pulled away slightly to gaze into the lavender pools of Botan's "I _will_ care for him still…if you'll accept me." Botan shivered at his words and for a moment, she honestly wanted to accept.

The words "Yes, yes, of course!" played on her tongue, but she stifled them and pushed her former love away.

"No," she answered quietly "I can't allow that." Kurama felt his heart sink.

"'No'?" He repeated "But-I already…why not?"

"It's my selfishness that got us into this situation in the first place." She responded "And I refuse to hurt Ranma any further. Forcing my old love on him won't be helping him, he might think you're his father-"

"Then let him!" Kurama exclaimed with a slight panic to his tone, he didn't want to lose Botan for a second time "I can be his father! I _would_ _be_ his father if that idiot Hiei hadn't fucked things up!" Botan sighed again.

"No, Ranma wouldn't be Ranma had you been his father." She stared at Kurama seriously "His is Hiei's child, and one day they will meet each other as father and son."

"And how do you expect Ranma to react when he finds out the way he was conceived?" Kurama snapped "Do you think he'll be okay with that?" Don't you think _that_ will hurt him even more?"

"That is none of your concern, Kurama." Botan replied coldly "And neither is his 'rescue.' I was told to sort out my life, and I'm going to try. Then the gods will return him to me. And then…" tears stung her eyes "Then I can explain _everything_ to him." She stared at Kurama again "Please," tears now falling freely from her eyes "just leave everything to the gods. They won't hurt Yusuke's son."

Kurama stood up and walked towards the door, he glanced at Botan over his shoulder "I can't do that." He replied.

Botan gripped the bed sheets tightly "Then you will die." She said in another cold voice "Because Goku and the others will **not** show mercy." Kurama slammed the door behind him as he walked out. Yusuke and the others stared at him quizzically as the fox demon came down the stairs.

"Is Botan alright?" Kuwabara asked.

"Go see for yourself." Kurama snarled and he walked outside, yet again slamming the door behind him. The free falling snow was thick and the freezing wind was strong but at that very moment he felt neither as they whipped at his flesh. He walked across the yard, leaving thick footprints that would be covered with fresh snow in a matter of seconds, through the ankle deep snow towards the empty street. He looked back at the house and saw Botan staring at him from her window, the moonlight gleaming off her pale skin.

They locked eyes for a moment that seemed to last forever until Botan turned away, another ache passed through the fox demon's heart before a surge of anger overtook his body. In an instant Yoko-Kurama was in his place glaring at the place Botan had been standing. He turned away and stared at the moon "I _will_ get my mate back." He growled "And I will make Hiei pay for what he did."

_And I'm so lonely I don't even wanna be with myself…anymore. _

AN: So this was a bit of a long chapter, I think. I apologize for the delay in the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! Please Review.


	18. Chaptire 18

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respectful owners.

AN: Hello my little darklings, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter? I rather enjoyed writing it. It was a good re-start for me. The end is coming soon, everyone. The past five years have been great. Writing stories like this give me a reason to turn my computer on everyday. I'm glad to be back. Whee!

Now, please enjoy **Chaptire 18: Theories of a One-track mind**

_I didn't hear you leave…I wonder how am I still here…_

Adjusting to the life of Heaven was predictably easy for Ranma and though he had never been there before he was immediately accepted by all the other gods and goddesses and was considered among the higher ranks of deities alongside Goku, Jessy, Sanzo and the rest of their cohort. He was well aware that the day he passes from his physical body he would be propelled into Heaven as a god and would live there for all eternity, therefore he assumed that was the explanation for his quick adaption. However, life for Ranma's friend/lover, Yuji, was not so easy.

Most of the members of Heaven looked down on Yuji and actually considered him more of a pet for Ranma rather than a guest. The fact that he was human and he happened to be the son of one of Heaven's enemies didn't help the circumstances, either. Yuji was not even allowed to wander anywhere without Ranma leading him. At one point Yuji had made the mistake of wandering into the hallway in his sleep, trying to find the facilities, and instead bumped into several militia gods who served under General Gojyo (an: I'll be calling them that from now on, yo. It can get confusing if I use their god-names).

"What are you doing, human?" One of the gods growled angrily "Where is your owner?"

Yuji thought he would piss himself "Uh-uhm…" He mumbled "I'm just…just looking for-"

"An **escape**?" interjected the other god, who had grabbed Yuji's shoulder gruffly "I don't think so. The General will be **very** interested in this!"

"In what?" Gojyo had walked behind his mercenaries, yawning loudly, he grinned at Yuji "Now, where are you running off to, Yuji? It's late and I'm sure Ranma would be worried if he woke up and you were gone. Come along, muffin head." The guard immediately released Yuji "You two should get to your posts, like, _**now.**_"

"Y-yes sir!" The two gods barked in unison before marching off in the other direction.

"Jesus, they're retarded." Gojyo chortled. It was after that incident that Yuji began to trust Gojyo quite a bit, despite the fact that _he_ had been the one who knocked Yuji out the day they kidnapped him.

But the fact that Yuji was virtually being shunned by all of Heaven still depressed the young teen. And, though he would never admit it, he was slightly envious of how well Ranma was treated and how much he was respected by people he had never even met. Ranma was not an idiot though, and he effortlessly picked up on Yuji's emotions.

"You know," Ranma said softly as they lied in one of the many, beautiful gardens of Goku's castle "I understand that it's been hard for you up here." Yuji didn't respond "I mean, you're in a completely new place and you don't even have your family to comfort you. I can't imagine how difficult that is. But you still have me!" Ranma leaned in close "I'll always be here for you and I won't let anyone hurt you!"

Yuji blushed madly and smiled "Thanks." Ranma stood up and stretched his arms.

"I have to go train tonight." He sighed "It's been a bitch these past couple of weeks, even Jessy has said it's been hard. Master Yu has really been throwing out challenges of all kinds. I might even have to spend a few days in the Demon world completing a mission or two…" he glanced sideways to see Yuji's appalled reaction.

"But you'll have Jessy here!" He assured after seeing the tears that threatened to roll down his friend's cheek "She hasn't been feeling well recently, so Master Yu is letting her have a break."

"Oh, yeah." Yuji furrowed his brow "I haven't seen her in about a week, has she been in her room sick this whole time?" Ranma shook his head.

"No," he scratched his neck "she had a mission in Demon World. It was strictly business for a goddess-in-training, per se."

"'Goddess-in-training?'" Yuji repeated, receiving a nod.

"Kind of, see, she's one of the more powerful goddesses in the realm and she's still too young to completely control her power, so she's given elite and exclusive missions to complete. She and I usually get the same mission so we can complete it quicker. But recently they've been giving us separate assignments."

"Why do you think that is?" Yuji asked.

Ranma shrugged and rubbed his neck "Well," he said after a moment "It might be because of the Demon Tournament coming up this summer. Or it might be because of the war or even the _other_ enemy they've been preparing to fight. It could even be a combination of all that. Or…" he shrugged again "It could just be because they want us to get stronger."

"What 'other enemy?' I didn't know Heaven was fighting something else…"

"They aren't yet." Ranma informed "But they're expecting to do so soon. I heard Gojyo and the others talking about it at the last meeting. I probably shouldn't be repeating what I heard, but I don't care. Jessy and I discuss all it all the time. We don't like to be left in the dark."

Yuji frowned at the comment, what made them think he liked to be left in the dark either? "Hey," the shorter boy chuckled as he picked up on Yuji's distress "don't think Jessy and I don't want to include you. It's just that…well…"

"You don't think I can help?"

"No, that's not it." Ranma plopped back to the soft grass "We just don't want to put you in more danger. See," he looked around before lowering his voice and continuing "Jessy thinks that your dad and his friends are going to try and infiltrate Heaven to rescue you."

Yuji's eyes widened "What?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, but that's all I know. The little monkey princess will know more. You should go pay her a visit and ask her while I'm gone. She wanted to see you anyway." He looked up suddenly "Goku's coming." He stood up quickly and helped Yuji up, as they walked towards the castle door Goku exited and waved merrily.

"Ranma, Master Yu is waiting for you." He greeted "I'll escort young Urameshi to your room."

"Actually, Jessy was saying that she wanted to see him, if that's okay?" Goku nodded "Later Yuji!" Yuji waved goodbye and followed Goku silently. It was always hard to say goodbye when Ranma would leave for training. As the young teen followed the tall god, he glanced over his shoulder to watch as Ranma headed in the opposite direction.

"Staring at him won't make him stay, boy." Goku chuckled.

"I know." Was the reply before they slipped into an uncomfortable silence.

"So, ahem, has Ranma told you about the tournament?" Goku asked in an attempt to break the silence.

"He's mentioned it a few times, but I already knew about it from my dad." Yuji informed "I was supposed to enter it, too."

"Is that so?" The Monkey King came to a halt in front of his daughter's door "I assume that you have knowledge of spirit energy, spirit weapons and the like?"

"Yes I do. I haven't mastered my spirit energy yet, but my dad has shown me quite a lot." Goku pursed his lips in thought.

"Interesting…" he broke into another chuckle "**Very** interesting! Ahahaha!" He opened the door "Jessy, my darling, look who has come to entertain you for a while!" Yuji let out a small cry as he was shoved into the room "Play nice, children. I have some important business to attend to."

"Uhm-but wait-"

"Goodbye!" Yuji was cut off by the closing of the door, he stared at it for a moment, as if it would magically melt. He had never actually spent any time alone with the young girl and from the stories Ranma told him-he didn't really want to. When he turned around he found Jessy sitting at the foot of her bed. She cocked her head to the side slyly and grinned.

"Hello," her grin widened "How long has it been since we last saw each other?"

"About a week!" Yuji laughed nervously, there was something not quite right about the grin she was wearing "Uh…how are you feeling? Ranma told me that you had been feeling sick…"

The young girl shrugged and hopped off the bed to stroll to the veranda "You know the view from here is really nice," she motioned for him to join her "You can see every garden we have here at the castle. So you can see anyone and everything that just happens to be among the flowers." Yuji peered out over the ledge to find that she was quite right, he could look in any direction and would be able to see all of the gardens, even the one he and Ranma had been in a mere five minutes before. "And the winds can carry a voice for miles."

She stared pointedly at Yuji "And it's kind of loud." His face went red; he and Ranma had not just been resting or talking there. Jessy snickered "Why are you embarrassed? I've seen you guys at it before. That was your first time wasn't it? So watching you guys down there today wasn't so different."

"You know that's voyeurism-which is HIGHLY ILLEGAL." Yuji snapped, trying to retain some of his dignity, unfortunately, Jessy could easily shatter that without even saying anything. All it took was a look, he turned away from her mocking gaze without another word.

"Anyway," the young girl walked back into the room "that's not why I asked Ranma to send you up here." She sat down at the table in her room and poured two cups of tea.

"Oh?" Yuji asked as he joined her at the table "Then what is it?"

"I know he already told you about my theory." She took a sip of her tea "You know…about your family and friends coming to rescue you?"

"What makes you think they found a way?"

"Because they have Prince Koenma on their side, and that little maggot is not stupid, even though he really does play it well." Yuji laughed at her remark "He knows that there are other ways to sneak into Heaven without being noticed until it's too late. For instance-" she opened an ancient looking book that had been sitting on the table "this book describes a portal that can be opened once and only once to cross worlds." Yuji took the book, expecting to be able to read it, but the words were in an ancient writing he had never seen before.

"Yeah," Jessy giggled "the book is written in 'The Beginning' language. Very few people can read it. What it says is that the portal requires a ridiculous amount of spiritual energy in order to be opened. It must also be in a pure environment. Which means it will take a lot of people who have mastered their own spirit energy, for example the former Spirit Detectives, and a 'pure environment' could mean somewhere in the Spirit World. Like King Enma's palace. And the estimated time it will stay open is very little. But it doesn't give an exact amount of time because the page is torn here."

Yuji mulled over the information he had just been given. If the portal could be opened, then there was a high chance he could go home. He frowned at the thought, that meant leaving Ranma alone, it also meant he would be considered an enemy of Heaven for leaving. Would Ranma be able to forgive him if he were to escape?

"I know what you're thinking, Yuji." Jessy said dully "And you shouldn't even consider escaping. Chances are that your family **won't** be going home after they cross that portal. If they step foot into Heaven, they **will **be detected and they **will** be captured and tortured to death. One of them might be left alive…as a slave. For all eternity." Yuji gaped at her serious expression.

"Don't expect me to be nice, either." She took another sip of her tea "I'm a goddess, which means I'm also at war with Koenma and his cohort. I won't hesitate to defend my home. 'Shoot first and ask questions later' is a motto my father has instilled in me." Yuji felt his heart sink.

There was no doubt that his father would try to rescue him, leading to their demise. Because there was no way they could win against so many powerful gods and goddesses, especially Goku and everyone else. But maybe there was a way he could contact them and tell them not to come? "Jessy, is there a way I can talk to my dad? Or even Koenma?"

Jessy pursed her lips, mimicking the same expression Goku had given earlier "There might be…" she tapped a finger to her chin "You'll have to give me some time to check."

Yuji nodded "Hey…have you told anyone other than Ranma or me about this?"

"Not yet." Jessy sighed "I was hoping if I told you first, you would make the right decision."

"What's the right decision?"

"Hee," she grinned "Contacting them to stop them." Yuji blinked "I don't **want** to kill anyone, you know. I'm not blood thirsty or anything like that."

"I have to wonder with you guys…gods are deceiving."

"Only because you humans don't understand out complexities."

_I don't want to move a thing…it might change my memory_

Yusuke and the other retired Spirit Detectives gathered in Koenma's office for the seventh time in the past month. They had been training their spirit energy to work as one to open the portal. The first few times had been uneventful but after their fourth meeting they began to show tremendous improvement. They even managed to cause massive waves in the air that formed an almost perfect circle in the center of the office.

But Yusuke was impatient, whenever they would get close and would have to stop he would become livid. "Yusuke, Rome wasn't built in a day, you know." Kurama stated becoming rather annoyed as well "We all want to get Yuji back as much as you do."

"Then why haven't we been able to open the fucking portal?" Yusuke snarled back "We've been going at this for over months and we haven't been able to open it even a tiny bit! What we need to be doing is training all day and every day until we get it! This every other day bull shit isn't going to work!"

"Everyone is trying, Yusuke." Koenma growled, pinching the bridge of his nose "You have to remember that we're short one man, a man who has a jagan and could easily open this portal alone, so we're down a massive amount of spirit energy."

"DON'T get me started on him!" Yusuke paced around the room angrily, clenching his fists tightly "If I ever see that fucker again, I swear to GOD I'LL-"

"WHAT WE NEED-" Kurama shouted, trying to calm the room down "What we need is more spirit energy…and more time."

"Maybe Botan has some ideas or something…" Kuwabara put in "I mean, she knows Heaven better than all of us…right?"

"Kuwabara makes a valid point." Koenma sighed "How has she been, anyway? I haven't really spoken to her…"

"She seems to be healthier." Kuwabara informed, he glanced at Kurama "She's been walking around and eating more."

"Keiko said she's been feeling a lot stronger, too." Yusuke added "We should probably go talk to her tonight." Kurama remained silent, his back facing the others "What do you think, Kurama?"

"Fine." He replied curtly "I'll meet you there."

_Oh, I am what I am. I'll do what I want. But I can't hide._

AN: SO! This chapter was reeeeaaaally long. I enjoyed writing it. I hope you al enjoyed reading!

Please Review!


	19. Chaptire 19

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respectful owners.

AN: I had planned to post this chapter up around 5 pm or so on Saturday, but I was completely distracted by my younger cousin's fifth birthday (Happy Birthday Nate!) and the Laos New Year's Festival. Anyway, I hope you all have been enjoying the past couple of chapters. As I said before, we're approaching the end of Dragons of Shame. I'm thinking around 5-10 more chapters (just an estimate). You'll probably notice that the chapter's will continue to grow longer and longer.

Also, for you Botan and Hiei fans, I absolutely MUST insist that you visit a forum site I often go to. It's rather empty there so we need LOTS of new members who will actually post in the forums. I really enjoy the site and, at the moment, there are only about 3-5 people who post regularly. I have the site address on my profile. PLEASE register and hop on the forums. I'm so worried that the site will disappear. Thanks.

Now, please enjoy **Chaptire 19: Dragon v Dragon – the disclosure**

"_I want you to be with me!"_

Ranma landed in the Demon world with a light thud as he hit the ground. He took off in the direction of Master Yu's territory, determined to be the first there. He was running at break-neck speed, flitting through the trees like a monkey. It took under thirty minutes to reach his destination, usually it would take him an hour but the training he'd endured over the past month had proven to be quite effectual. Master Yu walked out of his hut with a pleased expression.

"Early, as usual, Ranma." He greeted as Ranma gave a polite bow.

"Yes, Master Yu!" he saluted in a militaristic manner. The young teen knew he and his teammates would be given assignments that day and he was preparing himself mentally for battle. It took another half hour before anyone else arrived. The first to turn up was the Water demon Kaito, a tall, wiry, tanned boy a few years older than Ranma. His long ocean-blue hair was pulled back tightly in a braid that fell just above his waist.

He bowed to Master Yu before greeting Ranma with a clap on the back "Good to see you again, Ranma."

"Same here, Kaito." Ranma smiled. The two boys grew impatient while waiting for the last member so, under Master Yu's instruction, began to spar. It was another hour before he finally showed up, yawning.

He bowed in a somewhat boorish manner to Master Yu "Good morning, Yu Sensei." Master Yu struck the boy on the back of the head with his walking stick.

"Insolent fool, Shinobu." Master Yu hissed angrily "Late _again_. I've trained the Seimei Clan for _generations_, including your three older brothers and _only_ _you___have proven to be so-"

"-Insolent, useless, lazy, and overdue," Shinobu finished smartly, receiving another rap on the head, he howled in pain and held his skull "Ah, ah…that one hurt. That one hurt…" he moaned. Ranma and Kaito stood at attention, biting their tongues to keep from laughing. Shinobu grinned cheekily at them "Gooooood mooooorrrrniiiiiiing!" he shouted loudly, he dodged Master Yu's walking stick but ultimately received another blow.

"Stand at attention, boy, before I _really_ _lose my temper_." Shinobu sighed dully and sluggishly sauntered next to the other boys. When he straightened up he proved to be almost a whole foot shorter than either of them. He grinned in Ranma's direction.

"Dressed like Jesus again, I see." He whispered as Master Yu began his announcements "Did Goku-Sama not have any _men's_ clothes for you?"

Ranma grinned "Actually," he whispered back "these are the clothes your mother left in my room last night. I thought I'd wear them today so you could return them to her. Her ass wasn't as tight as I'd remembered so I don't think I'll be asking her over anymore." Shinobu snickered.

"Good one." He replied "My mom **is** a whore, after all." Ranma tried his best not to laugh. Out of all the demons he had ever met, Seimei Shinobu was by far the funniest and friendliest. He was a goofy wolf demon from a prestigious family, a year older than Ranma, with a smart mouth and an even smarter intellect Being the youngest of twelve, he put on a good front of being lazy and stupid to outshine his three older brothers and eight older sisters. "Dude, speaking of whores, one of my sister's is pregnant!"

"Which one?" Ranma whispered back.

"THE FAT ONE!" Shinobu laughed loudly, catching Master Yu's attention, who immediately kicked the boy into a tree. Kaito and Ranma burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"Ah," the wolf boy groaned "I should have seen that one coming." He stood up and rejoined his teammates "Buddha bless it, we need another member to take on this shit. I'm sick of being the only who gets their ass kicked."

"If you'd had your impudent big mouth closed," Master Yu growled angrily, his eyes turning slightly red "You would have heard me saying just that."

"That you're sick of me getting my ass kicked too?"

Master Yu raised his walking stick to strike the boy again, but Ranma interjected "ACTUALLY…" he shouted, moving in front of Shinobu while Kaito placed a firm hand over said idiot's mouth, "I think I may have a candidate for our fifth man, Sir."

"Oh?" Yu's anger dissipated into intrigue "And just who is this fifth candidate?"

Ranma cleared his throat "Ahem, Urameshi Yuji."

"What?" Kaito asked "Isn't he a human?" Ranma nodded.

"But we've all heard stories about his father." He stated "Yuji was also in the tournament last year!"

"Oh, the one where you killed that-" Kaito reaffirmed his hand's place over Shinobu's mouth. Ranma winced slightly and fought the urge to turn around and smack the older boy.

"As I was saying, Master," he continued "I think Yuji should be given a chance. His energy is unusually high for a human. So I assume he can be trained. We desperately need a fifth member, and he's the closest thing we-" He was silenced with a wave of Master Yu's hand as the old demon pondered over the information.

After a moment of silence, which was only silent because Kaito kept his hand firmly over Shinobu's mouth, Master Yu spoke "I will consider it, Ranma…You're correct in saying that we're desperate for another man, so I will mull it over while you three are on your mission."

"Is this a mutual assignment, Master?" Kaito queried, Master Yu replied with a nod and informed them of their next task. There was a small territory belonging strictly to the low class female demon group "Teimi" in the northwestern part of the Demon world that had been invaded and overturned by a B-class demon group known as "Katsu."

"Despite all of you being in the A-class," Master Yu said "do not take this group lightly. They may be a low level, but there are many of them. You are to vanquish each and every one of the members of the Katsu clan and reclaim the territory in the name of the Teimi. You have three days to be back here with mission accomplished, should you take longer than three days I will assume you are all dead. If you are late, do not even bother coming back. Understood?"

"Yes Master Yu." Ranma and Kaito barked in unison with a curt bow followed by a nasally:

"Yessssss, Yu Sensei-Sama-Dono-Kami-Saaaaan..." Ranma and Kaito took off through the trees towards their destination as fast as they could. Shinobu joined them shortly, gripping his head in pain.

The other boys laughed "Yeah, yeah," Shinobu said sarcastically "laugh it up. One of these days it'll be my turn to laugh when the old man kicks one of **your** asses."

"Actually I think I'm the only one who hasn't had the sheer ecstasy of experiencing Master Yu's fury." Kaito bragged "But maybe I shouldn't hold my breath? I'm sure it'll be my turn someday."

Shinobu snorted as he dodged a falling tree branch that had given way under Ranma's landing down hard on the branch after nearly missing the last tree "Geez, Ranma, eat much?"

"It's the pleasure of having a loving mother." Ranma chortled "Something you don't have!"

"_**My mother is very loving**_," the wolf demon retorted "why, just yesterday, I found her loving the neighbor's husband!" The three boys fell into fits of laughter as they continued their way towards their destination.

"_I am with you, look!"_

The boys had been running non-stop for three and a half hours and it was only when the vine Kaito had been swinging from broke causing him to fall over seventy feet to the earth's ground did they stop to rest. Shinobu panted heavily as he sat on the cool grass, beads of sweat running down their faces. Ranma leaned against a tree and took in their surroundings. He had never been in that part of the Demon world before and had to wonder if they were in uncharted land.

As if reading his mind, Kaito informed them of their location "We're on the edge of an old Amazaku demon's territory. Wait…" he furrowed his brow thoughtfully "I think he's dead now. Yes, I'm sure of it. He passed his kingdom onto one of his descendents."

"Who?" Shinobu groaned "Who used to own this shit hole?"

"Raizen, one of the three kings," Kaito answered "but his descendent is supposedly hardly ever here."

"So…" Shinobu grinned "You think his castle is empty? We could steal all of his shit! Oh my god, we have to do it!" He stood up excitedly.

"No, idiot," Kaito threw a rock at his teammate "we have an operation to carry out." Shinobu pouted and turned to Ranma.

"Fuck you," he growled, pushing away from the tree "I've felt the fists of Master Yu and I refuse to invoke his wrath again." Kaito stood up with a chuckle.

"Come on," he tittered "let's get moving. The faster we get this done, the faster we can get home."

"Agreed," Ranma nodded and jumped upwards, from branch to branch until he was well above the ground. They all took off as quickly and quietly as they could, ensuring they stayed out of sight, with Ranma leading the group.

"_I'll always be with you!"_

While Yusuke and the others were preparing for battle, Hiei was training in the Demon World. He had been fighting and destroying demon clans considered nuisances for over a month, so it hadn't taken very long for him to hear word of the Katsu clan. He had been observing said clan's actions from a distance for three days, when he noted several strong energies routing towards the territory.

The Katsu clan had noticed the energies as well, from what Hiei perceived, and were in a state of mixed apprehension and stimulation. When the fire demon wondered **why** the approaching beings hadn't bothered to conceal their energies they suddenly disappeared. Initially, he was slightly confused but soon realized there was a well-thought out attack about to take place. The intruding clan simply thought the demons had passed through, and let their guard down.

"_These demons have to be young…"_ Hiei thought to himself _"Why go through the trouble of letting the Katsu notice them and then seal off their energies if not to toy with them?"_ He smirked, the demons reminded him slightly of himself, and withdrew his katana. He was going to watch the slaughter and then commence a fight the victors _"This will be quite entertaining."_

"_Take this ring…you shall wear it when you find Eden.."_

Ranma and his companions lay low among the thick grass as they entered the Teimi territory, concealing their energy at the last minute to confuse the enemy. They said nothing, instead choosing to use simple hand gestures as communication. Ranma motioned to split up and form a triangular arrangement around the Katsu's camp. Kaito crept quietly around the right side of the camp, unbeknownst to the fact that he was walking in the direction of Hiei's hiding spot.

The older demon did not miss spotting the boy, he watched silently as a blue braid quietly ran under the tree, sea-green eyes fixated on the Katsu demons. Had Hiei left his energy in the open, he would have easily been spotted. Instead, he remained unnoticed as the boy revealed his own energy in a large wave, nearly knocking Hiei out of the tree.

"_The kid is strong…"_ He mused inwardly, after only a moment the boy sealed his energy off as another wave of power was revealed from the opposite direction. Then the energy hid itself as a new energy was revealed. Hiei was rather surprised at the immense strength discharged from the three forces and almost pitied the cruel death he knew the Katsu would soon suffer…almost.

After a few minutes, Kaito tensed up and lunged into the campsite. The Katsu leader yelled barbarically to attack the young boy, who gracefully dodged their feeble attacks. The boy's blue braid twirled magnificently around him as he darted from demon to demon, he stood still for a moment with a cocky smirk gracing his face. The eight demons surrounding him stood stunned briefly screaming in agony and falling to the ground dead.

A light chuckle escaped the water demon, they never knew what had just hit them. Hiei was more attentive and witnessed exactly what had been done, the boy had sucked the demon's fluids from their body as he dodged them. He held out his hand and in one swift movement, several large rings of water surrounded him like a shield.

The demons attacked again, but from one end of the camp another young demon burst through wildly. The boy was short and wiry, Hiei noticed, with wild brown hair and feral grey eyes. He was running on all fours like a dog, his lust filled eyes ablaze with excitement. The demon ran towards a large enemy madly, literally bursting through his target, emerging from the body covered in blood and entrails. In his teeth he held a heart that was still beating.

He dropped the heart on the forest's floor and howled "Hahahahahaa, ataack me, ataaaack me!" The demon ran towards him, dog piling him, while the other boy continued to forcibly dehydrate his enemies. As the wolf-demon clawed through his offenders another strong force began emanating from the thicket. The person who walked out of the copse surprised Hiei to such an extent that he actually _did_ fall from he tree.

"Ranma…" Ranma walked forward an untamed smirk spread wide across his fine features.

"Kill them!" The leader of the Katsu growled, moving quickly to hit Ranma with such force he was sent hurtling back into a tree. Ranma unsteadily got to his feet, Hiei noticed a thin line of blood trickling down his face. The boy walked forward again, only to be thrown back once more. "Stupid kid doesn't know when to walk away, does he?"

Ranma groaned softly and stumbled towards the demon again. "Don't worry," the demon growled, raising his sword "I'll teach you!" He brought the sword down with all his strength and expected to hear the sounds of ripping flesh and broken bones, but was flabbergasted when Ranma stopped the sword with a mere finger.

The young demon chuckled madly "I guess I don't learn." He agreed with blood hungry glare "Maybe someone should teach me…" the boy's chest began to rise and fall in quick and shallow breaths, the ground around him began to darken and the sky turned completely black.

Kaito and Shinobu stepped behind Ranma, grinning. Hiei watched silently as his son raised his hand, chest still heaving. The area suddenly became very hot, the air was thick and humid. Ranma's hyperventilating reached its pinnacle along with the heat, and then everything went cold and silent for a split second before fire bust through the boy's fingertips. The fire engulfed the Katsu demons starting with their feet and working their way up. Shinobu howled happily, with his tongue hanging from his mouth he ran at the burning demons. Tearing their burning flesh with his teeth and claws. Ranma joined him after instructing Kaito to release the captive Teimi clan.

It took almost thirty minutes for the boys to completely kill every last Katsu, simply because Shinobu wanted to make them suffer. He was breathing heavily, eyes still filled with blood lust as he ran in circles. Ranma shook his head "You get too excited, Shinobu." The wolf demon howled again while he dug his claws into a corpse, ripping the organs out to rub them on his face in ecstasy.

He moaned loudly, his eyes rolled upwards "Aaaah," he groaned "I know…I just…mmm…"

"Don't come in front of me, dude." Ranma sneered "That's the stuff you do in private." Kaito returned before Shinobu could reply.

"I've released them." He informed "They said we may have whatever treasure the Katsu had in this camp." Shinobu stood up suddenly.

"Wait, wait!" he shrieked excitedly "They're _women_! I need to fuck off the rest of this frustration!"

"**No.**" Ranma and Kaito said in unison.

"I specifically told them not to intrude because of that exact reason." The water demon snarled "Because after a battle _you_ can't seem to keep your dick in your pants. We definitely don't need you breeding right now."

"Let's gather this treasure and leave." Ranma snickered as he and Kaito began digging through the encampment, leaving Shinobu to pout and swat at a decapitated head. Once they had finished gathering their reward, the boys began walking towards the east.

"Wait." Shinobu ordered, he sniffed the air "I smell something…" he sniffed again "…tasty." His eyes flew to Hiei's direction, Ranma followed his gaze before setting the area on fire. Hiei barely dodged the attack.

"Come out, fool!" Kaito bellowed "Believe me, you don't want us to have to look for you!" Shinobu dropped to all fours again, panting madly.

Hiei hesitated before walking out of the shadows and into the clearing that was once the Katsu's campsite. Ranma's red eyes narrowed "Hiei!" he exclaimed, stepping back a bit when Hiei moved closer. "What are you doing here? **How **did you get here?"

Hiei sighed "That doesn't matter right now. You're mother told me that you were taken by the gods."

Ranma furrowed his brow "You met my mother?"

"I've known her for a long time." Hiei answered "We were once co-workers."

"I _thought_ there was something different about you.." Ranma smirked "I would never have guessed that you were a demon, though. I assume Mr. Minamino is a demon as well?"

"His real name is Yoko Kurama."

"AGH!" Kaito exclaimed, pointing at Hiei's bandana "I know who you are!"

"Whuh?" Shinobu was sitting on the ground now, staring up at his friend "Who?"

"Jaganshi Hiei!" Kaito replied excitedly "He used to work with that **spirit detective**! He's a rejected fire demon koorime offspring…He also wields the Jagan eye underneath that bandana, probably."

"Oh yeeeeeaaaah." Shinobu scratched his head "He won the Dark Tournament a long time ago with his teammates…uh…what were there names? I know one of them was Urameshi…Yusuke. Hey wait a minute-"

Ranma stared at Hiei "You," he growled menacingly "will tell me **everything you fucking know. NOW.**" The earth around the young demon shook dangerously. Hiei stood his ground and closed his eyes.

"It's…difficult." He said slowly "You're mother…was a ferry girl. She worked under Prince Koenma. She became the spirit detective's assistant and Kurama and I joined them…as punishment for stealing from King Enma's palace. The spirit detective team included Urameshi, Kuwabara Kazuma, Kurama, your mother and myself.

"When we were all going to retire, Botan and Kurama revealed to Koenma they were getting married and-"

"Is he my…" Ranma interjected, eyes wide "Is Kurama my…father?"

"Dude…" Shinobu whispered "That would be so awesome. It would explain a lot. Like the whole you looking girly hot and stuff." Kaito kicked the wolf demon.

Hiei stared at Shinobu and wondered how Ranma could be friends with such an idiot. "Ranma," he continued "Kurama is **not** your father." Ranma frowned.

"So…" he said softly "you don't know who my-"

"**I am.**" Hiei admitted, Shinobu snorted and put his fist in his mouth. Ranma ignored him and never took his eyes off Hiei.

"I don't understand." He shook his head "If my mother was going to marry Kurama…then…and why didn't you- Why weren't you there?! I don't understand this at all! If you're my father why didn't you fucking tell me sooner? WE WORKED TOGETHER! WHY DIDN'T KURAMA TELL ME?!"

"Because I didn't know!" Hiei replied helplessly "She ran without telling us anything!"

"No," Ranma snarled "You're **lying**. My mother would **never** run off like a coward. I know her better than that."

"Listen, just come back with me and we can discuss this with your mother. She misses you."

"NO!." Ranma roared "I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN YOU AND HER! RIGHT NOW! RIGHT NOW! RIGHT NOW!" In a flash of fire, Ranma tackled Hiei, pinned him to the ground. Ranma's eyes were glowing angrily "TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED…whuh…" The boy's red eyes widened as Hiei whispered his confession. He stood up and backed away, confusion etched across his face.

"You…you did what?"

"I'm sorry." Hiei couldn't look his son in the face "What I did killed me…All I can do Is say I'm sorry…When I see Botan I'll-oomph!" Hiei's words were cut off due to Ranma's fist colliding with his face. Ranma was above Hiei again, clawing at the man's face, slamming his head into the ground. The earth around them lit up in a blaze of fire, as the boy's anger reached dangerous grounds. Hiei closed his eyes, willing to accept his death but was surprised when Ranma was being pulled back by his friends.

"No!" Kaito was yelling, struggling to hold Ranma back "We have to go, Ranma! You must calm down, you'll set all of Demon world on fire! Master Yu- Master Yu will- NO!" Ranma had broken away again, but was stopped when a sudden light appeared around all of the boys. The light took all three young men away, but not before Hiei caught a glimpse of the light's source: Master Yu.

He glared daggers at Hiei and sent a telepathic message _"This summer's tournament…"_ and they were gone. Hiei sat on the floor of the forest, bloody and bruised wondering just why he hadn't been killed. After a brief moment he was heading back to the Human world, with a certain deity in mind.

"_And when you return…I shall be your Eve. Together, we will live forever"_

AN: Alright, everyone. I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. It took me longer to write than I had expected. But I enjoyed writing it. The next chapter will be rather exciting! 

Just a few more notes- the names Kaito, Shinobu. Teimi and Katsu are not just random names I chose or made up. They're actual Japanese names with relative meaning.

Kaito means: Kai – the seaandTo – the sake dipper, the big dipper

Shinobu means:  Shi – fourandNobu - to prolong, to stretch, to delay

Teimi means: Tei- upright, the chastityandMi – the beauty, the beautiful

Katsu means: Katsu – to overcome, to win

Anyway, the quotes I used in this chapter are from the movie The Fountain starring Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman. Beautiful movie, I recommend it.

And remember: Reviews are Love!


	20. Chaptire 20

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respectful owners.

Special dedication to everyone who has followed this story, thanks for your support!

Warning: B/H Lemon ensues

An: Hello, lovelies! I hope you are all doing well, remember to wash your hands often to avoid the Swine Flu and stay healthy! For those of you reading this on media miner, you will get to read the unedited version. I'm afraid those on fan fiction will be reading the abridged version.

Ahaha, for those of you have been to my home page/myspace page (which you can find on my profile) you may have had the pleasure of reading the 6-page preview to this chapter, and you'll notice several changes which may or may not be greatly significant. The chapters are going to be rather long, from now on, so I will be posting previews there, quite often. I'm updating the page a lot recently, so may I suggest giving it a glance? I've posted several pictures and a drawing or two over the past week. Next week, I hope to have drawings of Ranma and the original characters posted there. Yeeeeuhp. So:

Please enjoy **Chaptire 20: Dragon and Peony**

_My lover is gone. His boots no longer by my door..._

The moment Master Yu released Ranma, the young pupil roared ferociously. Without a word, his master opened the portal to Heaven which Ranma marched through to enter Goku's castle. He stomped forward, emanating such fierce energy that the marble walls and pillars cracked around him as he passed. Any god or goddess that felt him coming quickly fled as he made his way towards his bedroom.

"GRAAAARGH!" The young demon screamed gutturally as he kicked down the bedroom door and promptly picked his bed up and chucked it through the wall into the garden below. As he continued to tear his room apart, Goku walked in, followed by Master Yu and his pupils.

Jessy and Yuji stood behind them "What's going on?" Jessy queried, eyes fixated on the out of control demon.

"He met his father." Shinobu informed "Apparently, he's a dick."

"Is that so?" Jessy held back Yuji by his sari "You don't want to mess with him right now. Just look-" she motioned towards her father and Master Yu still standing in the hallway "if **they** won't go in there, then you **know** something is wrong."

After running out of things to smash, Ranma turned towards the spectators "YOU!" he shrieked madly, pointing an accusing finger at Goku "YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW ALL ALONG WHAT HE DID TO HER!" He picked up a large chunk of fallen marble and hurtled it at the Monkey King.

"Ranma," he replied as he simply swatted the marble away "there are things you need to understand about the situation."

"**ABOUT WHAT?!**" the demon bellowed "**WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL HIM?! AND WHY WASN'T I ALLOWED TO! IT WOULD HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED! WHY DID YOU ALLOW HIM TO GO UNPUNISHED ALL THIS TIME?! WHAT HE DID TO ME IS…WHAT HE DID TO **_**HER **_**IS INEXCUSABLE**_**!**_" Ranma dropped to his knees "My mom…" his eyes softened and pain crossed his face "I was so cruel to her before I left…I said such horrible, horrible things to her." he began to sob "I want to see my mother right now. Take me home." Nobody moved "TAKE ME HOME NOW!"

"Ranma," Goku spoke softly "We can't." Ranma let out another choked sob before throwing himself completely to the rubble littered floor, an uneasy silence engulfed the room, save for the uneven and choked sobs. His body shook with each cry, he didn't care who was watching and he didn't care what they thought. The only person who could comfort him was in the Human world, and they weren't allowed to see each other.

Yuji wanted desperately to run to Ranma and comfort him, but Jessy's grip remained firm. When the teenager stole a glance in her direction he noticed the unmistakable tears running down her face "I think you should all leave," Master Yu said softly "I'll take care of the boy." He walked forward and placed an arm around the Ranma, everyone began to scatter, Goku, Yuji and Ranma's teammates towards the throne room and Jessy towards her own room.

"I know it hurts," The old demon consoled "I can understand your anguish. But your mother was strong…and I'm sure she wouldn't want to see your tears." Ranma gave another cry so soft it was barely audible, Master Yu closed his eyes. Ranma was so mature it was rather easy to forget he was still a child. A child that relied heavily on his mother, the only person he'd had all his life. "To be torn apart from the woman you depend on so dearly must be excruciating."

"Master Yu," Ranma wept "I apologize for being so weak. But I can't believe she could love me with what my father did to her. I feel disgusting knowing that I'm the result of…of…" he trailed off and lied there for several minutes before he cleared his throat "I wish to b left alone now." The old demon nodded and stood up.

"I will be in Heaven for the next few days, Ranma." He informed as he left the room and headed towards the throne room.

_He left at dawn. And as I slept I felt him go…_

Yusuke sat in the comfortable recliner in Botan's living room, biting his nails he stared into the fireplace. Botan sat across from him on the couch with Kuwabara sitting beside her. The crackling of the fire was the only sound until Keiko walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of tea. She set it down gently on the coffee table and cleared her throat.

"Botan," she started "I hope you don't mind that I used the tea in the golden case from the pantry. I couldn't find any other and it smelled so wonderful."

"I don't mind," the blue haired woman replied with a smile "it was a gift from Ranma…" she bit her tongue and fought back tears before forcing another smile "I was looking for an excuse to use it."

"Ah," Keiko smiled "I wish _my_ sons would get me gifts like this. But they take after their father!" She forced a small laugh that sounded ridiculously out of place., the others avoided eye contact with each other. Keiko began pouring the first cup "A-anyway, what is it, exactly?"

"Oh," Botan sighed "it's…ah…What _was_ it?"

"It's Nuwara Eliya tea from the Ceylon island state in the Indian Ocean." Everyone turned towards the source of the voice, Kurama had just walked in from the cold, let in by Yukina. "It's a rather rare tea, Ranma must have gone through a lot of trouble to obtain it." Botan averted her eyes from the fox demon and instead stared at the ornate rug in front of the fireplace. "Did you know the name means 'Floating Over the Clouds?'"

"That's lovely!" Keiko's eyes glittered brightly, she turned towards Yusuke "Isn't it, Yusuke?"

"Sure." The brooding man replied "Keiko, we need to speak to Botan alone, so take a hike for a bit."

"_**Excuse me?!**_" she shouted vehemently "I think you can ask me to leave in a polite way! I AM carrying your FOURTH child, Yusuke Urameshi."

"Would you just do as I say, for once?" Yusuke snarled, forcing her to succumb to his a glare. She huffed angrily and she stomped out of the living room, Yukina let out a nervous chuckle before following her. The former spirit detective shifted his chocolate gaze to Botan's soft face "There are a lot of things we need to talk about. We've been waiting for you to get stronger."

"I had a feeling this discussion was coming on." The woman smiled sheepishly "Where do you want to begin?"

"Well, I know it's hard to talk about…" Yusuke started in a gruff voice "but let's start with when you left…You know…when Hiei-" Kurama's emerald eyes narrowed, Yusuke didn't miss the expression but continued to anyway.

Botan swallowed the lump in her throat before beginning "Ah," her fists clenched in her lap "I was still settling into my first house…it was raining…around ten o'clock at night." A shudder ran down her spine as she recalled the night "He showed up in my bedroom…soaking wet and freezing. He was like…he was like _ice_. And his eyes…they were…they weren't the right color. They were grey and cloudy and he didn't say a word. He didn't even make a sound…it was as though he was somebody completely different. It was so-" she clamped a hand over mouth as a choked sob escaped.

The room was silent, Kurama's expression turned dark, his green eyes roamed over his former love. Her entire stature spoke of pain and anguish, her shoulders shook with each sob, Yusuke rested a comforting hand on her knee. The fox felt a pang of jealousy at the move but he remained standing near the window. "Botan," Kuwabara said softly "If you don't want to talk anymore, you don't have to. We understand." The blue haired woman shook her head.

"No," she gasped slightly "I left without saying anything to you guys…I owe this to you." The men exchanged silent words "I must have passed out at some point because I when I woke it was morning, and the house was empty. I didn't know what to do…I was so scared. I cleaned myself up and threw away my clothes and the sheets, trying to make sense of everything but I was completely lost. I didn't want to talk to anybody…I just distanced myself from everyone." She glanced at Kurama.

"After a week or so I started experiencing excruciating pain in my stomach," she furrowed her brow "it was so bad I couldn't even get out of bed half the time. I thought I was dying. One day it was so bad, I couldn't even see or move to reach the phone to call for help. All I could do was scream…then Son Goku and Sha Gojyo showed up. They took me to the Demon world and I stayed in the demon village that Master Yu lived in at the time.

"It was there that they told me I was pregnant. That just broke my heart. I couldn't believe I was going to have Hiei's child…I wanted to kill myself, then I thought 'How selfish. It's not this baby's fault.' I was told I would be in pain all through my pregnancy because the baby was sapping all of my spirit energy and health to grow strong. The reason, they said, was due to the child's _future_ strength. 'He'll be the strongest demon the Universe will ever see' they told me."

She pressed a hand to her abdomen "I was told to hide in the village until after the baby was born. Oh," a tear ran down cheek "the pregnancy was so difficult…all nine months I was in pain. But Chiyo, the midwife, was there every step of the way, helping me fight through the pain. She-"

"Wait." Kurama cut her off "Chiyo, I know that name. She was an old demon of the Aoi tribe? Right?" Botan nodded and Kurama slammed a fist against the wall "I **was there**. I passed through that village when I was looking for you. It was maybe…six months after you'd disappeared." Botan cast her guilty stare to the floor "Did you know I was there?"

She didn't reply immediately, after a moment's pause she answered "Yes, I knew." Kurama covered his face with his hand "But I wasn't allowed to see you during the pregnancy. Nobody was supposed to know I was there…to keep the baby safe. I wanted to tell you, I really did. I wasn't allowed, though, because Goku-"

"**I'M SICK OF HEARING ABOUT GOKU!" **Kurama snarled, advancing towards Botan.

"Calm down, Kurama!" Yusuke shouted as he and Kuwabara jumped in his way "What did you expect her to do? They were the first ones to show up!"

"They wouldn't have been the first if she had just told me! Had she not been so selfish…you should have tried to get help from us, we would have-"

"What could we have done, Kurama?" Yusuke bellowed "None of us are gods. I barely knew what to do with Keiko when she had the twins, I can't imagine how much we would've freaked out seeing Botan in pain _all the time_. I'm sure even Koenma wouldn't have known what to do in that situation. She might have died, because none of us would've been any help."

"We would've just made things worse. You don't have kids, Kurama. You don't know how scary it is to watch your wife go through a pregnancy normally." Kuwabara added in glumly "I can't imagine what it would have been like to watch her suffer through a it. Although, I'm pretty sure we all would've been too scared to, well, to do anything."

"Those gods would have shown up sooner or later, anyway." Yusuke sighed and put a hand on Kurama's shoulder "You need to understand that." Kurama shoved his friend's hand away before settling back into his place near the window "Go on, Botan."

She hesitated before continuing "The birth was probably the hardest thing to go through, I was in labor for 18 hours. But…I'll spare you the details."

"Thank you." Kuwabara and Yusuke replied in unison.

"After Ranma was born, Master Yu, Goku, Sanzo, Gojyo, and Hakkai all offered to help me raise him," she went on "And I knew that meant living in the Demon world for a while. I realized I had the choice of going back home and telling everyone what happened. I could have turn them down and I would have been able to see everyone again, and I had every intention doing just that. I even went back to the house, prepared to ask Kurama to help me raise my child…but…" she closed her lavender eyes again and gave a small smile "I looked into that sweet face of Ranma's…and I saw Hiei in him. It made me think: 'What if Kurama won't help me? What if he can't accept Ranma and me because of what's happened? What will happen to Hiei?' It also made me question if there would be anybody other than the gods and Master Yu strong enough to help me control this power.

"And with all the enemies the former Spirit Detectives made, someone was bound to try and take him away from me and use his power for their own advantage. I wouldn't allow that!" she stared fiercely at Kurama "So I made a decision to live in the Demon world, where I knew the two of us were protected. And when Ranma turned four, I decided to move back here, but every week we returned to the Demon world for his training. He was growing up _so_ _well!_ He was even making friends with both his teammates and his human classmates, and he was winning demon tournaments and doing brilliantly in school!

"I couldn't have been happier for my baby! And along with the treasures from the Demon world I also made a living writing books to support us! We were more than set for life!" Botan gave a small laugh "We were both so happy! He's smart and strong and kind and I couldn't be prouder of my son." She stood up defiantly and pointed a finger at Kurama "So don't you dare accuse me of being selfish!" Kurama was taken aback momentarily.

"Well, look where it has us today, Botan!" Kurama retorted "Yusuke's son is a prisoner of war. And your own son was taken, too. Don't think you're a martyr."

"I know for a fact that I'm not, Kurama!" she shouted back heatedly. "I **know** I've made dire mistakes, but I'm atoning for my sins! I denied my love for you a second time, even! And it breaks my heart to hurt you, but I will get my son back! You're only thinking of yourself, admit it! All you can think about is how I hurt you! Yes, I know leaving was painful for you guys, it was painful for me, too! But I had to make a choice for the well being of my baby."

"And you think it was the right one? Leaving us all here to agonize and worry about you for over sixteen years?!"

"**YES, I DO." **Botan shouted, startling everyone with the intensity of her voice. The room was filled with quiet. Unsettling and never ending, the answer Botan had given was painful, yet true. Everyone in the room, including Kurama, agreed that she had done what was best for Ranma, what was best for her, and even what was best for them. Had she told them in the beginning, how different would things have turned out? Would she still be alive? Would her son still be alive? Would Hiei? Would any of them?

After several long, painstaking moments Botan spoke again, her voice steady and calm "I know that you are all planning to sneak into Heaven. I also know that trying to stop you is futile. I don't want to lose any of you again, so I will give you a map of Goku's castle, that way you can find your way back to the exit swiftly and safely." She sat back down "But I'm telling you right now, you'll be leaving that place empty handed. If I know Jessy…she is already well aware of your plan…and if she knows then there is almost no doubt that Goku will know soon."

"What makes you think the little girl knows already?" Kuwabara asked.

"She's wise beyond her years, being small is what throws others off." Botan gave a small smile as the room's atmosphere lightened "I'm sure she's known about the hidden portal. She won't tell her father immediately. She'll try and think of a plan to avoid confrontation…"

"We better hurry, then." Yusuke smirked "Botan, if you can draw that map for us."

Three hours later, Yusuke and the others were preparing to leave. Throughout the night Botan noted Kurama's lingering stares, the "accidental" bumps of his hand, and the way his features begged for some one-on-one time, to talk most likely. Yet she had ignored every one of his indirect advances. He was the last to leave the house, purposely taking his time to put on his coat and shoes.

Standing in the doorway he caught her eye, they gazed at one another for several long moments. It was his last attempt to invoke a conversation before departing. They were about to embark on a dangerous mission to rescue Yuji, who knew when he would see her again? It took al his courage to finally speak, "Botan," his eyes betrayed the even tone of his voice "I can't tell you how sorry I am." The former deity raised an eyebrow "I realize I've hurt you…I've been selfish and cowardly admittedly. I think part of myself is jealous of Ranma and the undivided attention you give him. But I can overcome that. _We_ can over come this. After this is done…I want you to be with me. If it means I have to beg the gods to give me another chance with you…then I will do so. I love you, Botan."

She stared at him silently "I will _always_ love you. You're…" he fought for the words. "You're all I have. I'll marry you and I will care for Ranma as if he were my own. If you'll have me." She said nothing "Botan?"

"Goodbye, Kurama." She replied curtly "I'll see you when you return." Green met lavender for a split second before she turned around "Please close the door when you leave." Kurama's face fell, he fought the urge to run after her and beg her to take him back. To love him again. Silently, he prayed for her to turn around. His prayers went unheard.

He waited a few minutes more, relying on the small chance of hope she would change her mind. But to no avail. She knew he was still standing there, she could still feel his energy, hurt by her words, or lack there of, waiting for her to turn back. But she had made a decision.

Had she been too cruel? Botan could not stop the tears running down her face, and her heart ached and tore at her chest as she imagined the look that must have passed over his face. There was nothing she could do to make the pain subside, for either of them. Her guilt and remorse would be something she would have to suffer through for the rest of her life. But the fact was that it wasn't due exclusively to Goku's orders. No, it had developed into much, _much_ more than just an order. It was a matter of love, or the lack there of.

Somewhere, along the past sixteen years and the recent events, the former deity had realized she no longer loved the fox demon the way she had before. It had died and the love for the man who had given her the child took its place. There was no denying she had always veiled her desires for the troubled koorime anymore.

She had stifled those feelings long ago, when Kurama confessed his love for her. It wasn't that she deliberately led Kurama on, she had indeed loved him, and she quite intent on marrying him. But it was only because of Hiei that she had not done so. Would she not have given birth to Ranma, she would be a wife to Kurama and a mother to his children. It was almost as if a thank you was in order for Hiei having opened her eyes to the truth.

Botan had to wonder if the gods had known all along that she was subconsciously in love with Hiei, and if that was the reason they let him go unpunished. Because perhaps he would one day atone for his sin and they could be together and raise Ranma as a couple.

"_What?" _She asked herself mentally _"Is that what I truly want? Is for Hiei and I to…"_ She shook her head, pushing the thought to the back of her mind. She refused to give in to her selfish desires, she needed to focus on becoming a better person. Her focal priority was her son, and it would forever remain so.

_Returns no more…I will not watch the ocean._

Hiei sat in the now blood spotted snow, just outside Botan's house, waiting for everyone to leave so he could talk to her. His breathing was becoming shallower as the temperature quickly began to drop. It was becoming difficult to mask his energy, and it took all his concentration not to pass out from the loss of blood. He had tried his best to avoid any other enemies on his way back to the Human world. He had been ambushed twice so, needles to say, he'd failed miserably due to his already weakened state. "Gah," he spit blood onto the snow with a groan, and stared up towards the sky, the winter stars twinkled brightly.

"**YES I DO.**" Hiei jumped violently at the sound of Botan's voice, mildly surprised that she could reach that volume. The battered koorime admired her new found strength. She had changed, greatly. No longer was she the ditzy ferry girl that had first attracted Hiei and Kurama, she had grown into a mature and strong woman so protective of her child that she would abandon her own happiness for his sake.

"Ah," Hiei groaned in pain again, his vision was starting to blur. The throbbing of his cuts was becoming unbearable, it was as though there was a fire within him that refused to extinguish. He didn't quite know how to react to his son's strength, whether he should be shocked or if he should have expected it. The anger and hate were definitely something to be expected. The demon shifted in the snow, his lower body was becoming cold and if he didn't get warmth soon he would likely pass out and die. "Fuck…" he struggled to stand, leaning heavily against a small tree as he made his way to the window, to peak inside. He didn't have enough energy to use his Jagan.

What he saw were Botan and Kurama, staring at one another in the doorway, neither saying a word for a few moments. Hiei couldn't help but sigh in disgust at Kurama's actions and words. They were things a man should never say aloud…or even feel. A pang of guilt ran through the bleeding man. The only person in the world who could unravel Kurama like that was Botan. And there she stood, denying him. Denying herself. If Hiei hadn't lost his self control, his friends wouldn't be in such pain. They would be together, happy. Another grunt of disdain escaped him, this one directed at himself.

Botan turned away from Kurama, hiding the tears that ran down her cheeks. Yet she still stood strong up until the point Kurama closed the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked shut, a choked gasp ran through her and she dropped to her knees. Her shoulders shook with each sob, she placed her forehead on the floor "Oh, God…" she moaned "I'm sorry Kurama…I'm sorry." Hiei closed his eyes, the remorse that ran through his veins was piercing. His head began to spin and he realized in a last moment of panic that he was slipping into unconsciousness.

"B…Botan!" He groaned as he began to fall to the ground, he hit the window as hard and as loud as he could to get her attention. But he passed out before he even saw her running towards him.

"_My lover's gone…"_

Hiei awoke to the sound of a fire crackling merrily. His eyes remained closed, yet a frown was unmistakably etched across his face. _"I'm surrounded by soft…soft what?" _He shot up, eyes opened wide with an audible gasp. Staring around the indiscernible room wildly, he felt lost. "AGH!" he screamed in pain and gripped his head. It was in that moment he remembered the previous day's occurrences. Glancing around the room again through one squinted eye, he recognized where he was.

A soft knock on the door made his head pound "Hiei," came a gentle voice from the other side "I'm coming in." Botan opened the door slowly, a tray in hand. "I'm glad to see you're finally awake. You had me worried." Hiei remained silent, eyeing her carefully as she sat on the edge of the bed. While setting the tray down.

"I made breakfast." She informed while handing him a plate of bacon, eggs and toast. "Please, eat." Hiei stared at the offered plate wordlessly, Botan rolled her eyes "Either you eat, or I can shove it down your throat. Don't pretend you aren't famished." Hiei's eyes widened slightly but, rather begrudgingly, took the food. The first sniff had him hooked, the food's aroma swept through his nostrils and down his throat, making him salivate. With his taste buds fully alert, he began to shovel eggs into his mouth like a ravenous animal.

Botan gave a small giggle "I knew it." She reached for the bowl on the tray, Hiei stopped momentarily to sniff at it only to contort his face in repugnance. "Ha!" Botan laughed at his reaction "This isn't food, Hiei." She informed "They're herbs to help heal those wounds. They speed up the healing process, like a demon's saliva. Only much quicker and less disgusting." She reached for the covers, but Hiei pulled back, ogling her suspiciously.

"Don't be childish," she scolded "we need to take care of those injuries. Now, move the blanket." She grabbed the blanket once more, only to be stopped by Hiei's firm grasp on her wrist. Her amethyst eyes met the red orbs of Hiei's.

"Not yet," he said gruffly "let me finish this, first." Botan blinked and fought back her laughter, she nodded and set the leaves back in the bowl. She watched Hiei finish off the plate in amusement, a smile plastered onto her lovely face. He handed her the plate with a slightly dismayed look at the empty porcelain.

"After we dress the injuries, I'll fix you another plate. We can go downstairs and eat together." Botan pulled the covers back.

"WOMAN!" Hiei snarled, snatching the covers back "Where. Are. My. Clothes?" Botan giggled again.

"Don't be shy, Hiei." She chortled "They're in the wash…I had to clean you up, last night! You didn't expect me to do so with your clothes _on_?"

"Or you could have _let m_e _be._" Hiei grunted angrily, receiving another smile.

"Oh, please." The woman retorted "I had to change Ranma's diapers, potty train him, and _wipe_ his little rear for the first few years of his life, and when it came to the 'morning wood' part of his life, I had to explain that too. So I've seen my share of penis. This is nothing new to me. Relax."

"How, the hell is that supposed to help me relax, exactly?" Hiei growled through gritted teeth.

"Fine." Botan answered smartly, cocking an eyebrow "I only wanted to put these on your legs, but you can do it yourself. Turn over so I can put this on your back." Hiei reluctantly conceded, turning onto his stomach without moving the covers. In an instant, however, Botan had removed the blanket and was holding him down. In his weakened state he wasn't much of a fight, something the former deity took full advantage of. "Just hold still for a minute!"

Hiei growled angrily and gave in, settling his face into the pillow. Wallowing in his defeat as Botan began to gently place the cool leaves on his cuts. He turned his head to the side, a calm hush filled the room. Neither of the two seemed to mind. It was odd, Hiei had thought their confrontation would be painful and difficult. He figured there would be tears and elevated voices, and perhaps things would be thrown at him. Yet, there they were. In a comfortable silence as she treated his injuries, just as she had in their younger years.

His eyes traveled over the walls, the morning light shining through the windows illuminated the room. Filtered through the wooden blinds, it cast slight shadows over furniture and photographs. There were many pictures in the room, he noticed. Some on the walls, some on the mantelpiece, and even some on her night stand. All pictures of she and Ranma. There was one particular photograph that caught Hiei's eye, resting on the night stand. It was Ranma as a child, sitting at park table, a clear frown on his young face.

Hiei's brow furrowed, he couldn't tell how old the boy was in the photo. "Botan," he murmured "How old is Ranma in this-AH" he cringed.

"Oh, Sorry!" Botan grimaced, she had pulled together a large gash in Hiei's right thigh "I know that hurt."

Hiei replied with his all-too familiar grunt "Hn."

"What were you saying a moment ago, Hiei?" Botan asked, as she closed another laceration.

"I was asking how old Ranma was in this…?" He held up the picture, Botan looked away from his leg momentarily to glance at the photo.

"He was seven, there." She laughed "I love that picture!"

"Why?" Hiei asked befuddled "He looks pissed off."

"Oh, he was." Botan chortled "He didn't want to be there, it was the annual school picnic. He just couldn't seem to get along with anyone in that particular class. Just after I took that picture he shoved a boy to the ground and told him he'd make him eat dirt if he didn't shut his mouth." Hiei smirked.

"Funny."

"I know!" she snickered "You know, it reminded me of you." Hiei stiffened at her words "Hiei?"

"Hn." He set the picture down and reached for another "Tell me about this one." He ordered, changing the subject. It was a picture of Botan and Ranma, dressed in elegant clothing.

"We were going to the ballet with Kenichi, in that one."

"Who?" Hiei grunted, a slight twinge of rage swept through him for the fact his child and the mother of his child had spent time with another man.

"My editor." Botan replied casually, as she moved up to Hiei's lower back "He's also my ex boyfriend. Ranma hates him."

"_So do I."_ Hiei thought as he set the picture back down "I know what the ballet is…" he said suddenly "Why the hell would you make him see something so mind-numbingly ridiculous?"

"It was my birthday." She sighed "Kenichi randomly bought tickets for all of us to go, I couldn't say no."

"That's a lie." Hiei snorted "And those horrible clothes…why would you put my kid in that ridiculous-" he cut himself short when he realized what he had said, Botan sat tranquil, her hand just above his shoulder blade. Silence filled the room again, neither of them knew how to react. "I…" Hiei's eyes went wide as he felt gentle arms wrap his back lightly.

"Hiei," Botan whispered against his bare flesh "hearing you say those words…makes me so happy." Tears burned her eyes "You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you about him." Hiei closed his own eyes, fighting the stinging sensation. "I've been having this crazy idea recently that maybe, just maybe, we could have raised him together. That maybe you would have been the one taking these pictures…maybe you could have been there to help me instill good virtues and strength in him."

Hiei snaked a hand over her arm that was wrapped so tenderly around him "I would have." He whispered "I should have…" he sat up and stared into the violet pools of her eyes "How…how can you even _look at me_? How can you just sit there and casually discuss Ranma's life as though what I did never happened?" Botan bit her bottom lip, drawing blood, he ran a thumb over the droplet of red. Pulling her closely he whispered "How can you _stand me? After what I did to you? _You could kill me right now, Botan…I wouldn't stop you."

Botan sniffled and shook her head "I could never…" she whispered back "Hiei… you gave me a gift. Ranma is the light of my life…how could I hate the man who gave me that light?" Hiei lowered his face towards Botan's.

"I can only say I'm sorry." He murmured, a hair's length away from her lips.

The woman in front of him wrapped her arms around his neck, urging him closer "And I can only love you." Their lips met, gently, unsure, and slightly afraid. But Hiei closed his eyes and puller her onto his lap, his wounds screamed in protest, but it didn't matter. The feeling of the beautiful woman he had so longed for holding him gently, her breasts against his chest made him forget his pain. He moved a hand up to her cheek, holding it softly before deepening the kiss. She moaned into his mouth, as his tongue took the opportunity to slip into the cavern of her mouth. Their tongues intertwined, she ran her small hands through his hair. His left hand traveled downward from her waist, only to snake back upwards under her shirt.

Another moan, muffled by his fervent lips, escaped her at the feel of his cool hand on her skin. "Botan," he huffed as she pulled back to remove her shirt, hastily throwing it to the floor. Passion flooded through the koorime's body, heat pooled in his groin. Leaning back against the soft bed, she followed him, never leaving his mouth. She traveled down his jaw line to the crook of his neck, leaving trails of kisses along the way. He was getting excited….maybe a little too excited.

"Wait." He groaned, she stopped immediately.

"What's wrong?" Though her eyes were hazy with lust, her voice was full of concern "Oh my God, I forgot about your wounds! I'm sorry-"

"No," Hiei placed his hands fully on her waist, stilling her "It's not that." She gave him a puzzled look "Do you really want this? What about the gods? I know about your promise…Don't break your word for me." Botan sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Hiei," she said softly "I did make a promise. They told me to sort out my life…for what is best for Ranma. And recently, I've been piecing things together." Hiei gulped slightly "I think they want us to be together for Ranma…because why didn't they get you when it first happened? Why haven't they spoken to you about it?"

"You're right." Hiei replied in realization.

"There's something much, much bigger here." she continued "We just haven't figured it out yet." Hiei closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her "To answer your question…yes. I want this, Hiei. I _need_ this." She stared into his eyes.

"So do I." he said softly, their lips met again for another kiss before he rolled her onto her back. Leaning over her he placed his hands on either side of her head. "I love you."

"Hiei," she cried "I do too…!" Clasping her hands around his neck, she pulled him towards her "I love you so, so much…"

No more words were spoken…

"_No Earthly ships will ever bring…him home…again."_

Hiei rolled next to her and pulled her close, she tucked her head under his chin with a sigh and closed her eyes. They lay in silence, words weren't needed to express their emotions. Only the sound of their soft breathing and the crackling of the fire filled the room. But there were still things that needed to be discussed. What was going to happen from there? How were they going to explain things to Yusuke, Kurama and the others? What would the gods say? What would Ranma say?

The thought of Ranma made Hiei close his eyes in memory of how angry he had been. "Botan," he said softly after a moment "we need to talk about something."

"Hm?" she mumbled quietly "What is it?"

"I met Ranma in Demon world." He blurted, in order to avoid beating around the bush. He stiffened, waiting for his love's reactions.

"Oh, I figured as much." She sat up, Hiei's bewildered stare made her sigh softly. "I can recognize the inflictions of my own son's anger. I've seen it many time's before." She glanced at the wounds on Hiei's cheeks "Although it seems you got away before he could do any real damage."

"This isn't 'real damage'?" Hiei breathed.

"No," she replied "This isn't even the beginning of his rage. I assume you told him what happened between us?" Hiei nodded, receiving another sad sigh "This is going to be difficult to explain to him. I'll have to wait until the summer to speak to him again…I don't know how he'll react."

"You don't think the gods will let you see him now?"

"No," Botan stood up and reached for a silk robe hanging on the back of her vanity chair "they won't let me speak to him until the tournament this summer." Hiei grunted and put a hand over his shamed face.

"His master told me to be there." He sat up and watched as she tied the robe together "That old man is the only reason I'm alive. He took Ranma away before he could kill me, but told me to meet them at the tournament in June. I'll have to join and fight."

Botan stiffened and stared at him in shock "You can't!" She gasped "Hiei, if you join and fight Yu's team…if you fight Ranma-" she bit her tongue "Hiei…you just can't. Ranma won't wait for you to explain if you're both in the ring."

"I realize that." Hiei murmured, folding his hands together and tucking them underneath his chin "And if he chooses to kill me, I will accept it. That will be the atonement for my sin: my life." Botan's face fell, she knew there was no dissuading Hiei from his decision, she turned towards the bathroom "But you know I love you." She turned around and stared into his eyes, filled with sadness and love "that's what matters to me. And I want him to know I love him as well." Botan fought back tears and nodded, she couldn't speak, too afraid her voice would betray her.

As she walked to the bathroom, she stopped suddenly. A wave of chills ran down her spine, her eyes widened. "What's wrong?" Hiei made a move to stand but she held up a hand to stop him. "What is it?"

"It's Yusuke and the others…" she choked out "They've breached Heaven...but something's wrong. I can feel it…" she turned frightened eyes towards the koorime "I think Jessy is trying to talk to me…"

AN: Dun, dun, dun! Cliffhanger, yes, yes I know. Bad, Jessy, bad! Hee "I'm so naughty I should be spanked!" a lovely little quote from the Yu-Gi-Oh! Abridged Series by Little Kuriboh (who is on hiatus until after May 16th) I very much look forward to his return. He's been updating his new youtube account, which everyone should check out! Nyaha. Anyway, the new chapter will be up soon. I promise. I hope you all enjoyed it!

Remember, Reviews are love!

Kthanksbye!


	21. Chaptire 21

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respective owners.

AN: Sorry about the delay, everyone. Life is quite the little pesky fucker sometimes.

**Chaptire 21: No Return**

Yuji stood quietly in the throne room with several gods and demons, many of whom he didn't know. Several of the gods (and goddesses) he had only heard of through fables, he found it amazing that they actually existed. Goku and his war general, Kenren, or "Gojyo" as he liked to be called, stood over a large table with a bewitched top that showed all three worlds. They spoke quietly and quickly to themselves, touching the table at odd intervals to make the map move or zoom in.

Konzen, or Sanzo, stood by indifferently and only put in his own thoughts when Kenren or Goku turned to him. Yuji frowned and glanced around the room, searching for Tenpou (Hakkai) but found him entirely absent, as were the old demon Yu, Ranma's martial arts master and Goku's daughter, Jessy. Yuji couldn't help but wonder where the two had disappeared to. Especially with Shinobu causing somewhat of a ruckus amongst the holy figures, while Kaito stood by watching, trying his best to remain nonchalant.

Yuji pursed his lips thoughtfully, he noticed that it hadn't been very long after Ranma's return that so many gods and goddesses had suddenly made an appearance at Goku's castle. He assumed Goku and his cohort had called them over, but for what reason, Yuji was unsure and some part of him dreaded even asking. He had a gut feeling it had to do with the war, there was also another horrible gut feeling that it had to do with his father and friends.

A sudden burst of light and a massive wave of energy swept through every person there, catching their attention. The throne room doors burst open and a tall, beautiful goddess with a thin, transparent sari walked in, followed by an older, shorter looking god dressed in fine silks. He appeared quite sweaty and rather harried, he was holding several scrolls and books and had even managed to balance a small globe in his arms.

The two of them passed by Yuji quite quickly, but there was no mistaking the sly smile the goddess cast him. As though she could see right through him; it sent shivers down Yuji's spine.

"Kannon," Goku bowed politely."I am glad to see you accepted my invitation."

The beautiful woman smiled, "How could I refuse such an invitation? I may be the goddess of mercy and salvation, but even I will stand against those who are wrong. Besides, how else am I to help my darling nephew?" She turned to Sanzo.

"Damn old hag," he growled under his breath and moved closer to the table. "You never add any real aide to our wars, why should we think this time is different?"

"Konzen, I'm hurt." Kannon pouted playfully and motioned for the man struggling to stand behind her. "Jiroushin, bring forth my gifts."

He stumbled forward and dropped his bearings on the table, Kenren cocked an eyebrow and picked one of the scrolls up. "My, my, how the Kanzeon Bosatsu has outdone herself! You simply must thank her holiness, Konzen." The blonde god snorted and walked away from the table to sit in the throne near Yuji.

"Darling nephew," Kannon sauntered towards him, leaving Goku and Kenren to sort through the scrolls. "You have yet to introduce this young ward of Goku's to me or any of your other esteemed guests." Sanzo threw Yuji a sideways look.

"I would hardly call him a 'ward.'" He stared back up at his aunt, "He's more of a pet, really."

"And to whom does this pet belong?"

Sanzo smirked, "I would say he is equally shared between Ranma and the Princess Jessy." The room erupted into laughter from the other gods and goddesses. Yuji's ears went red.

"Well, he seems to be uneasy without either of his owners in the room," Kannon laughed. "Where have the two gone?"

"Princess Jessy is currently in her wing of the palace, where Ranma has been moved to." Master Yu answered, making Yuji jump; he hadn't noticed the old demon walk into the room. "It is wonderful to see you again, my lady." He bowed respectfully to the beautiful woman. But before she could reply, Gojyo interrupted.

"Goku!" Nearly the entire room shifted towards the table, where the war god was moving his large hands frantically over the moving map. "I've found the enemy…he's in Makai…he was moving fast—I almost lost him, but now he's stopped. We don't have much time. I'll gather my army and meet you there."

Gojyo headed across the throne room, nearly half of the room followed behind him, Yuji assumed they belonged to Gojyo's great army. Goku turned to another god, "Go and fetch Tenpou, I'm sure he is with the princess. We leave immediately for the demon world."

Master Yu snapped his fingers and his two present pupils were at his side in a flash, "My students and I shall join you, King Goku." Yuji rose from his spot and made to go with them as each person in the room headed toward the door, but Sanzo stopped him. "You're staying here."

"But-"

"This isn't your fight, boy." The golden haired man replied, "You should stay and keep an eye on Ranma and Jessy. We can't risk anything happening to you, your family and the rest of the Spirit World believe you to be our prisoner…also, it would kind of suck if you died now." When he reached the hallway, he ran into the messenger god and Hakkai. "Everyone has already left, we're behind them."

Hakkai nodded and, in a flash of light, the three had disappeared.

Yuji found himself, for the first time since he'd arrived in Heaven, to be completely and utterly alone. A light scan of energy told him he and Jessy were the only conscious ones in the palace, and that the princess was the only god or goddess there. The kids were, quite frankly, home alone.

Stepping out of the throne room, Yuji started walking in what he hoped was the direction of Jessy's room. His steps thundered through the halls as he walked, when Heaven was quiet, it was _really_ quiet. He'd been walking for a few minutes and, worrying he might be going in the wrong direction, he scanned for the young goddess' energy again. However, he discovered that there was another pulsing energy coming from behind him.

He stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder, the energy wasn't a normal one-it certainly didn't belong to either Jessy or Ranma, and it seemed to belong to more than one being. _"Oh, no_,_"_ Yuji thought in a panic, as realization struck him hard.

The pulsing energy suddenly shot throughout the castle, shaking the strong walls, and then three recognizable energies suddenly appeared. A scream echoed from down the hall, from the direction Yuji had been headed in.

He took off running in the voice's direction, knowing very well that the scream belonged to Jessy. Yuji hadn't been too far from her room, he ran into her after only a few minutes of running. "My dad and his friends are here!" Yuji exclaimed in a panic, "Your father isn't here!"

Jessy's golden eyes widened fearfully, "We have to hide you guys!" Yuji nodded, unsure why he agreed with her. "Ranma is in the room next to mine and I-" She was cut off by the sound of the shaking castle, Yusuke and the others were building a spirit barrier and it was tearing the castle apart. "We have to move!" Jessy took a hold of Yuji's hand and dragged him into a room around the corner.

The room had no windows, and it was painted jade-green. Ranma was lying on the bed in the center of the room, passed out. Yuji approached him and tried to shake his lover awake, but to no avail. "He's in a resting coma," Jessy informed, having to scream over the cacophony of the collapsing castle. "He won't wake up for a few days, you will have to carry him!"

"Where do we go?" Yuji shouted back, lifting Ranma over his shoulder and following Jessy out of the room and into the hall. Jessy bit her lip in thought. "Well?"

Before the girl could open her mouth, another energy entered Heaven. "That's Koenma," Yuji said. "Why is he here?"

"For me," Jessy replied. "An eye for an eye! We have to get out of their barrier, my father's castle won't last long."

"Where do we go?" Yuji repeated, but he was distracted when he realized his father and the others were quickly approaching them. Yuji attempted to mask his energy but found he could not do so. He gazed at Jessy in concern.

"There's no hiding in Heaven," she answered his silent question.

"YUJI!" Yusuke's scream rang loud and clear over the rumbling, he was very close.

"Just run!" Jessy took off, running in the opposite direction of Yusuke's shout. Yuji followed suit, holding on tightly to Ranma's limp body, and though he was running much faster than any average human, he was still slow compared to the child goddess. She paced herself to ensure that Yuji and Ranma were still with her. Because they were severely slowed down, Yusuke and the others had caught up with them.

If Yuji or Jessy stopped, they would be captured.

Thankfully, they had reached the end of the barrier. "I'm opening a portal to Makai," Jessy breathed. "We can hide there!" Yuji was out of breath, he could only nod. As they continued to run, trying to put as much space between them and Yusuke, Jessy held her hand up and concentrated. A waver of light began to form, it began to open wide, revealing a thicket of lush green-a forest in the Demon World. They stopped momentarily to open it- a big mistake.

A thick, green and thorny vine wrapped itself around Jessy's throat, cutting off any screams she might've tried to let out. "NO!" Yuji bellowed, throwing up his own hand to keep the portal open. Without knowing what he was doing, he pushed his own energy towards the gate, maintaining its opening. Glancing over his unoccupied shoulder, he saw Kurama, in his yoko-form, holding the other end of his vine-whip. Jessy turned around to face the fox demon, she gripped the vine with one hand and pulled it towards her.

Kurama flew forward, he released the whip to keep himself from being dragged away. Yusuke held up his fingers like a gun, "SPIRIT GUN!" He aimed at Jessy, but she tossed it aside effortlessly. The young goddess ran forward in a flash, striking the approaching Kuwabara in the face, throwing him backwards.

"DON'T!" Yuji yelled, nearly dropping Ranma.

Yusuke grabbed the young goddess by the hair, she responded by flipping up and over Yusuke's head and onto his shoulders. She dug her small fingers into his eyes and yelled out, "BOTAN!"

A small, blue object exploded in Jessy's face, she was thrown backwards and onto the floor at Yuji's feet. Koenma walked out from the barrier, placing another pacifier in his mouth. Sometime during the fray, Yuji had managed to open the gate to Demon World enough for the three of them to get through. Without a word or another glance at his father and the others, he tossed Ranma into it, then picked up Jessy's limp body and tossed her in as well.

"Yuji, what are you doing?" Yusuke shouted, reaching a hand out to him. Yuji stopped and gazed at his father, wanting desperately to run to him. But something nagged at him-an urgent desperation to protect Ranma and Jessy. "Yuji?"

Yuji shook his head and, as Kurama and Koenma began to run towards him, jumped through the opening, closing it behind him as he fell through. He landed, thankfully, in a soft and plush thicket of green grass. He'd been worried that Jessy and Ranma had fallen to their deaths, but he'd had no other option. He was grateful that his worries were unfounded.

A light drizzle of rain began to fall on Yuji and his unconscious companions. The teenager dragged them out of the rain and into a nearby cave, after quickly scanning it for demons. He tended to Jessy first, finding that her burns were already healing and Ranma, thankfully, was unscathed. The drizzle turned in to heavy rain, thunder and lightening boomed across the darkened sky.

Without realizing it, Yuji passed out.

"_Cupid, draw back your bow, and let your arrow flow."_

Hiei, feeling the effects of his post love-making and Botan's herbs, jumped from the bed and demanded his clothes. Botan wordlessly headed downstairs to the washer/dryer room, with Hiei at her heels. She was glad that she'd put his clothes in the dryer just before making breakfast.

Botan concentrated, trying to contact Jessy again through whatever bond the young goddess had contacted her. But it was as though the line was dead, because as much as Botan called she received no answer, which worried her even more than Jessy's frantic call. Hiei dressed quickly, he noticed that he was nearly completely healed, and by the time he walked into the living room to retrieve his katana, he actually _was_ completely healed.

"Where will you go?" Botan asked in a quiet voice, stopping her lover from walking out of the front door. Hiei frowned-where _would _he go? There was no way for him to enter Heaven, and going to the Spirit World was out of the question.

"Do you think the little girl and Ranma are still in Heaven?" Botan found she had no answer to that question.

"I don't know. I really don't," she replied after a moment. "I don't even know if she's…" The words caught in her throat, she refused to believe Jessy was dead. "I don't know if she's even conscious. She called me, somehow, but there's no way for me to contact her now." A pregnant pause filled the room.

"Why would she contact you in the first place?" That had been something that'd bugged Hiei from the beginning, "Shouldn't she have had her father to protect her, if there was any danger?"

Botan agreed with him and, without a word, she concentrated her spirit energy to call on Goku. The Monkey King's voice filled her mind after a short pause, "Botan?"

She sighed with relief, "Goku, something has happened. Jessy contacted me a short while ago-"

The King cut her off, "When?"

Botan closed her eyes, the conversation was taking a lot of concentration, "About ten minutes ago. She only said my name, she sounded frightened, but I haven't received anything more. You are not with her?"

Goku cursed, "I am not."

"Do you think she is still in Heaven?" Botan asked, afraid that Goku would question her. If he were to find out that Botan was well aware of the attack, she might never get Ranma back.

The King was quiet for several minutes, making Botan worry, but he spoke hurriedly. "We will find her. Do not fret. Thank you for calling me, Little Sister." Their conversation was cut off then, Botan opened her eyes and gazed at Hiei, feeling drained.

She informed Hiei of the vague answer, but neither of them were satisfied. Being left in the dark was a pet peeve of both of theirs. Hiei decided to leave to Makai, hoping he might find something there. He tried to fight the urge to kiss Botan goodbye, but her worried expression made him give in. "It will be fine. I will come back as soon as I can." The blue haired woman nodded and let him go, unaware of the storm approaching her house.

"_Cupid, please hear my cry and let your arrow fly…"_

Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama and Koenma returned to the Spirit World portal, angry, defeated and injured. The moment they entered Koenma's office, Yusuke let out a scream so anguished and loud that the office shook violently. "YUSUKE!" Koenma yelled, struggling to stand up. "You have to calm down!"

"CALM DOWN?" The human bellowed, grabbing his former boss by the robes, "My SON just left me—willingly! Explain that to me, EXPLAIN IT!" Koenma jerked himself free, and leaned against his desk.

"How do you expect me to explain that, Yusuke?" With a grunt, he poofed back into his baby form. "I don't understand it myself—they seemed to know we were coming."

"Another concern," Kurama, who'd reverted to his human form, put in, "is that the palace was empty. How is it that Goku and the others just so happened to be absent?" The office filled with a pregnant pause.

Suddenly, Yusuke straightened up and began to walk away. "I think these are questions we should be asking Botan."

"_Straight to my lover's heart, for me…"_

AN: Well, everyone, I apologize again for the delay. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. We are approaching the end, as I've said many times before. I wanted to put a little more into this chapter, but I'm extremely tired and I promised myself that I would have a new chapter uploaded today! I do intend on finishing the story this year, and I am going to try my hardest to update again this week. I already have some of the next chapter started.

This chapter was, by far, the most challenging. I have re-written this chapter at least fifteen times-no joke. Every time I write it, I will read it over and be so dissatisfied that I just trash it and have to start again from scratch. This time, I will not be looking at it again. I will just be uploading it, so it's going to be full of many many many many errors, just as the other chapters are. But I digress-I really hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter. I also hope that you can forgive my tardiness. Have a good weekend, my little darklings.

Remember: Reviews are Love!


	22. Chaptire 22

Dragons of Shame

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Saiyuki or Journey to the West. They belong to their respective owners.

AN: Hello, my little darklings. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. It feels great to be updating this story. With each chapter, I feel closer and closer to the end. If you are subscribed to my profile, you may have received a notification of a new story. If not, I am delighted to inform you of my latest story, Before the Veil: a companion to Dragons of Shame. It isn't really necessary to read, but I feel that it adds some insight to Botan's feelings on her relationships with those around her. I have it sort of focused as a prequel, but they're mostly drabbles. I won't be updating it very often, I'm not even sure if I'll update it until after I've completed Dragons of Shame. I may remove it after completion of this story, so it's definitely worth a peek.

But I digress, please enjoy this latest chapter, I have certainly enjoyed writing it:

**Chaptire Twenty-Two: Temporary Friends**

Botan wasn't sure what to expect of Yusuke's return. She was genuinely concerned for everyone's well-being, and she couldn't say she was on anyone's side, except for Ranma's side, of course. Then again, she was in love with Hiei and truly felt he would be the man she and Ranma spent the rest of their lives with. So, maybe she could say she was on Hiei's side as well.

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't Yusuke and the others returning completely livid with her. She wasn't expecting Yusuke to scream in her face, demanding to know how to enter Heaven again, demanding to know if Goku had brainwashed Yuji. She was shocked at even Koenma's frustration, although he assured her it was not directed at her.

"Yusuke," she tried to calm the former spirit detective down, he screamed and began to throw things. For a split, selfish and inwardly reflective moment, Botan mourned for and wondered why it was always _her_ nice things being smashed to bits.

The moment passed and she found herself, once again, urging Yusuke Urameshi to calm himself and take a deep breath. Yusuke's read face went slightly purple, as though he was going to burst like a balloon, but slowly, unsteadily, he let out all his hot air in one breath. Tears stung his tired brown eyes, and he turned away from everyone. He held his breath until he could rein in his emotions.

Though Yusuke was in so much pain, he was grateful to have Botan back. She had always been one of the few people in the universe who could calm him down. Just to see her concerned face broke him. She was like his little sister, the one he could never say "no" to. She was so brave, and he was surprised at how well she was able to compose herself when her son, the greatest joy in her life, was gone.

He respected her a great deal for her courage, because she was in the same boat-if not worse off- than him. Botan loved her son, it was easy to see, and without her child around she couldn't seem to function very well. Who did Botan speak to about the pain of her child's absence?

Yusuke's children were his pride and joy, they were everything to him, and he felt very blessed to have three of them, and another one on the way. Keiko, Yuki, Konrad and "Peanut" (as they like to call number four) fed him strength during the agonizing absence of Yuji, the child Yusuke found he had the closest relationship with.

So, it was excruciatingly difficult for Yusuke to watch Yuji turn and flee from his salvation.

"Yuji's face," Yusuke growled, sitting next to Botan on the couch, "had this pained expression on it. It was like he wanted to leave, but he just couldn't…"

Botan furrowed her brow, "What exactly happened? Where were Ranma and the Princess? Tell me everything."

Yusuke filled her in on everything, up to the moment when Koenma had blown up a pacifier in Jessy's face. Botan interrupted with a horrified gasp, and a glare at Koenma. "You threw a _bomb_ in a _little girl's face_?"

Koenma threw his hands up in surrender, "Now, Botan, remember—Jessy Wu K'ung isn't a normal little girl. She's part goddess and part demon. I am sure she was fine." Botan's horrified face turned into outrage.

Yusuke shrugged his shoulders, and continued before she could say anything. "Well, the explosion was enough to knock her out." He left his mouth hanging open slightly, a thought having crossed his mind. "You know, she yelled something before that, though. It sounded like your name, Botan."

All eyes fell on the blue haired woman, her cheeks went pink.

"Botan," Kurama started suddenly, the first thing he'd said to her since their return. "When we arrived there, the entire palace was void of any god. Only Jessy, Yuji and Ranma, who was unconscious, were there. Why is that?"

Botan was genuinely confused, "How would I know that?" She asked, not sounding defensive. "I told you before-Jessy probably knew you were going to break in to Heaven."

"Yes," Kurama pressed, "But how and why wouldn't she tell her father? I assume he would be there, had she forewarned him."

Botan rolled her eyes, "I told you, the Princess is very astute. Also, I know she is, at this point in time, an enemy of the Spirit World, but she doesn't necessarily enjoy violence. She is like any of us, she'll protect what she feels is right. I'm sure that she would not _want_ to cause Yusuke or any of you harm-seeing that she and Yuji get along quite well."

Yusuke's eyebrows rose in curiosity.

"Okay," Kurama reasoned, "However that still does not explain why she called out _your_ name." Botan stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Kurama, I have a feeling, that you are trying accuse me of something." She glared daggers, Kurama turned away, confused with himself even.

"_I_ have a feeling you're hiding something from us." He finally replied.

The room filled with an awkward silence, Botan admitted that there were a few things she was still hiding, such as the fact that the gods were fighting another enemy. A fact Koenma had completely failed to mention. But, when compared to the kidnapping of Ranma and Yuji, the unknown enemy didn't seem so important. There was also the fact that she and Hiei were going to be together. Yet again, it didn't seem too important.

"Do you have some sort of way to contact them?" Kuwabara had been staring between Botan and Kurama.

"No," she replied. "Well, not really. There's a sort of contact I have with Goku, but we rarely use it since it takes a lot of concentration. It always takes a lot out of me, and anything more than a few minutes conversation wipes me out. Jessy called out my name, and she sent me some mental images of you guys, but that was the first time she had ever done anything like that. It was also very brief. "

She furrowed her brow again, a thought struck her. Panic set in. "Wait a second." Botan stood suddenly, "All of you must leave, right now."

"What's wrong?" Everyone in the room went on high alert, Yusuke stood in front of Botan to shield her.

"You guys just broke into Heaven—into Goku's palace," She said. "You injured a goddess, Koenma, a very important goddess. Goku and the others are undoubtedly looking for you."

"So?" Kuwabara snorted, though everyone in the room had already started sweating bullets. The ginger man just happened to miss the train.

Yusuke stared at his friend, "SO, Kuwabara, it means that we are all in big, _big_ trouble yet where the first place we run to is Botan's house, whose son is just as much of a captive as Yuji. We just put her in a whole lot of danger."

It seemed to hit Kuwabara like a MAC truck then, and he started to freak out. "We can't go home! We'll put everyone else in danger!"

Everyone seemed to agree that the best place to hide out would be the Demon World, where they could stay in Yusuke's inherited territory and train until the Summer Tournament.

"You should all go home and tell your families goodbye," Koenma suggested.

"We'll reconvene in an hour, outside the usual place?" In a matter of moments, Kuwabara, Koenma and Kurama were gone, Yusuke stayed behind to speak with Botan.

Just like the first time they'd met, Yusuke had a million questions for the former deity.

They stayed sitting next to one another on the comfortable couch, sitting in a pregnant silence. Yusuke struggled to sort through all of his questions; he wanted to initiate his border-line interrogation. To his immense surprise, Botan started with that he had been thinking would be a good starter.

"Kurama said my son was unconscious," she started; Yusuke noted that her voice was icy and flat. "You guys didn't cause it." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"Right," Yusuke replied slowly. "I was actually going to ask you about that. Do you have any idea-"

"No," Botan answered quickly-a bit too quickly. Yusuke was able to pick up on her lie.

Having watched Ranma fight his entire life, Botan was well aware of her son's weaknesses and how he reacted and handled the copious amounts of spirit energy within him. She knew that whenever Ranma's emotions and anger got the best of him, his spirit energy often overwhelmed him, which usually ended with Ranma falling into a short coma.

The comas, which were very similar to the sleep Yusuke had been through during the Dark Tournament, could last anywhere from three days to a whole month. Typically, after a tournament, Ranma slept for a few days. After the most recent tournament, the teenager had slept for three and a half weeks.

There was no doubt, in Botan's mind, that Ranma's most recent coma was a result of having met Hiei, and she was sure that had been a very traumatic experience.

A wave of dread spread through Botan, at that very moment she wished she could be with her son more than anything else in the universe. It brought her back to the conversation at hand with a heart-wrenching ache.

Yusuke gazed at Botan with a mixed sense of worry and suspicion, "Botan?" He asked tentatively, "Kurama said he thinks you're hiding something-is he right?"

Pink met brown as the two friends stared at one another for a long while.

"Yes," Botan replied quietly, realizing then that there _was_ a lot she was hiding. It was then that she also realized she might never be able to be honest with Yusuke or anyone ever again. Not only was she hiding her relationship, and the tidbit about the other enemy, and some other things about Ranma, but there were a million things she hadn't told them. She hadn't even been honest with herself for a long time.

With a sigh, she continued. "Yusuke," she put her hand on his knee, "I have many secrets. But they aren't things I can share…just yet." She added the last part with a small smile.

Yusuke scrutinized her silently for a few moments more, finally, he gave her a curt nod. "I understand," he said, "I don't expect you to suddenly share every little thing with us. But I do expect you to be in our lives again, I don't want you to disappear on us." He grinned.

It was the same grin Botan had always pictured him wearing whenever she thought fondly of the past. She always remembered the love that everyone'd had for one another back then. She was overjoyed to find that that love was still there, for the most part. Though Kurama and Hiei were different, she felt that they might one day, after all of this was over, be whole again.

With a small sob, Botan gathered Yusuke into a hug. He was stunned momentarily, but then he found himself holding her tightly, grateful to those bastard gods for having kept his little sister safe. He was glad he could hold her again, to hear her voice. He knew that things were bad just then, they had been bad in the past, but he felt that-with Botan at their side again-things were going to get better.

When they separated, they both laughed at themselves through the tears they'd been trying to hide. They discussed a few things, far different from the questions Yusuke had had lined up in his brain. He told Botan how much he admired her for being so brave, and when he asked her how she could do it, she smiled.

"It's not easy," she admitted. "But I know that Ranma is in a safe place, they won't hurt him, so that makes it somewhat bearable. Although, I have to say, not having him here has me a bit lost."

"I know that feeling," Yusuke smirked sadly.

"Yuji is going to be fine, Yusuke." Botan assured, "I don't know why he wouldn't come home, maybe Ranma or Jessy said something to him, but I promise you—he hasn't been brainwashed. I can also promise you that while he is in the care of Goku, he will be alright."

Botan's words were so full of certainty that Yusuke felt she might be right. But, being a former spirit detective, he knew the way things could suddenly take a turn for the worst. So, Yusuke Urameshi was not going to let go of his concern for his son until he had that boy in his arms once again.

* * *

Yuji awoke to a great dissonance of voices, and through half-opened eyes, he found that he was surrounded by the gods again, but they were not in Heaven. He sat up and stared around, Jessy was also awake, being tended to by Hakkai. Ranma was still asleep, covered by a fur blanket. Though they were still in the Demon World, they were no longer in the cave, instead, they were in a small hut that seemed even smaller crowded with several tall and powerful gods.

Goku, Sanzo and Gojyo stood close to each other, discussing, in very low voices, what their next move should be. Master Yu and the rest of Ranma's teammates were nowhere to be found. Yuji shakily got to his feet and made his way out of the hut, nobody seemed too concerned that he'd left. Or perhaps they just hadn't noticed.

It didn't matter to Yuji, he'd had a great deal of turmoil boiling within him. Although he felt slightly guilty for leaving Ranma alone, his guilt for causing Yusuke pain weighed greatly on his mind and heart. His father's expression-the last thing Yuji saw before jumping into the portal-had been the single most painful experience of Yuji's young life.

Yuji stepped out of the hut and took in his surroundings. He was in a small demon village that was bustling with gods and demons alike, most of the gods were easily recognizable to Yuji, having seen them come and go through Goku's palace. As he passed by a small group of gods and demons, he overheard them mention the damage dealt to the palace.

"The Princess' quarters were completely caved in…" Said one god in a low voice, "The throne room was the only thing that survived, it seems that was where Urameshi came in…"

Yuji ducked his head down low and walked in the opposite direction. If the gods held any grudge against him before, they would surely be worse now that his father had successfully infiltrated Heaven. Silently, and lost in his own thoughts, the young teenager made his way out of the village and into the dense forest of Demon World.

Yusuke's face would forever haunt him, Yuji knew it would. There would be nothing he or anyone else could do to erase that image from his mind. The shame would leave a permanent scar on his soul, and his heart. He had run from his salvation. From, quite possibly, the only way he would ever see his family again.

Goku had, at one point, promised to take him back to the Human World, but there was no guarantee Yuji would see his family alive there. Gods were complex, tricky, and, to Yuji's opinion, quite fickle. Yuji had once voiced his thoughts to Ranma, but his friend had merely dismissed it.

"Gods are difficult to understand," Ranma had said with a wave of his hand. "You just don't understand, it's something you probably won't ever be able to grasp." Yuji had been hurt by those words. It was as though Ranma was saying Yuji was inferior. But he'd let it slide, thankful to at least have someone to talk to.

Recently, however, talking to Ranma had become rather strained. As the tournament drew closer, the less time they had to spend with each other. Though Ranma, Jessy, Goku and some (few) of the other gods seemed pleased to have Yuji in Heaven, everyone else either ignored him or treated him like filth.

Thinking about it, Jessy and Ranma had been discussing things without Yuji. They'd been having their own private meetings. Even though Ranma had told Yuji it was to keep him safe, it still hurt to be left out. To be considered weak.

"_To be considered useless?"_ Said a small voice in the back of Yuji's mind. Yuji jumped at the thought and gazed around, there was a sudden prickle in his mind-a strong prickle. _"Why did you even save them? It's obvious that neither Ranma nor the Princess care for you."_

Yuji admitted to himself that he'd been wondering about his actions. He had merely acted on instinct when he tossed Ranma and Jessy into the portal. True, he had told the Princess that he would stay. But seeing his father had been a game changer.

The suddenly wind blew through the trees, leaving what sounded like the ghost of a malicious chuckle.

The prickling in Yuji's mind grew stronger, and he was suddenly on high alert. He concentrated his energy, blocking out the voice and the prickling. He held his hands together in the style of a gun, as his father had taught him to do many years before. Someone was watching him. Another gust of wind swept through the trees, blowing away the prickling sensation and the voice-but not the feeling of being watched.

"Hey, you!" A dark shadow suddenly fell out of the trees in front of Yuji. Without thinking, he fired his spirit gun. The spirit bullet hit the person in front him, issuing a scream of horror and agony through the forest.

Shinobu dropped to the ground, blood poured from his ears and face, he gripped his eyes and cried out.

Kaito abruptly appeared at his friend's side; Yuji jumped violently but was paid no attention. "NO!" Kaito screamed, his hands hovered above Shinobu's body, unsure if he should pick the injured wolf demon up or not. "MASTER YU!" He bellowed, and then in the blink of an eye, the old demon master was there, as were Jessy, Goku, Hakkai and Gojyo.

"Shit," Gojyo hissed, staring at Yuji. "Did you do this?"

All eyes turned to Yuji, who held up his hands defensively and stammered, "I-I didn't-He startled me! There was this voice and it-"

Shinobu cut him off by yelping in pain. Hakkai picked up the young demon carefully, stopping at even the slightest whimper. With Shinobu firmly in his arms, the doctor god began to head back to the village. Kaito and Jessy moved to follow, but Master Yu stopped them with a shake of his head.

Once again, everyone was staring at Yuji. For the first time, Master Yu was truly surveying him. Yuji had never felt more uncomfortable. No one spoke for a few moments.

The silence built up, and it was too much for Goku. "What happened?" He demanded in a rather bothered voice.

Goku stared pointedly at Yuji, "Well-"

Kaito cut him off, "THIS BOY," he snarled, pointing at Yuji, "ATTAKCED SHINOBU-UNPROVOKED AND UNJUSTLY!"

"It was an accident!" Yuji exclaimed.

"LIAR!" Jessy grabbed a hold of Kaito's robes, restraining him from attacking Yuji. "LET ME GO! I WILL KILL THIS MAGGOT MYSE-"

"**ENOUGH!**" Master Yu's voice was so loud and piercing that even Goku and Gojyo flinched. The elder demon grabbed Kaito, "Calm yourself, boy. It is rare that I see you so out of sorts, I pray I never see it again." Kaito lowered his sea green eyes to the ground and nodded sadly.

Master Yu then turned to Yuji, his voice low and threatening. "Boy, continue with your story." Yuji nodded and told them everything, when he'd finished, Goku and Gojyo were staring at one another, exchanging a conversation telepathically, or so Yuji assumed. After a moment, Gojyo faced the direction of the village and whistled.

It was a high pitched, ear-piercing noise. It made Yuji's ears twitch, Kaito covered his ears and winced, and even Master Yu seemed lightly annoyed. Jessy, Goku and Gojyo seemed to enjoy the sound, however; as did all of the other gods who abruptly appeared at Gojoy's side. The gods were all clad in armor with a special emblem on the front; Yuji assumed the emblem meant they were warriors in Gojyo's army.

Yuji's thoughts were confirmed when the armor-clad gods and Gojyo took to the sky on clouds, with Gojyo leading the way.

Before Yuji could ask any questions, Master Yu spoke to him again. "You were able to suppress the voice?" Yuji nodded. "You were also able to harm one of **my** pupils?"

Yuji felt cold, but he nodded, "Yes, Sir." Master Yu turned to Goku.

"Is not Raizen his forefather?" Goku frowned in thought and nodded. Master Yu smirked. Suddenly, everyone stepped back several paces, leaving the old demon and Yuji facing one another.

In a flash of grey, Master Yu disappeared. Yuji gasped and jumped to the right, barely dodging a deadly blow from the old dragon demon. The teenager found himself in the middle of a sparring session. The two moved so quickly that to any untrained eye, it would seem that neither was there. Yuji was extremely glad he'd paid attention to everything Yusuke had ever taught him.

He was able to avoid nearly every attack that Master Yu threw at him, until he tried to fight back. Yuji threw his hand out, expecting to connect with the old man's neck, only to be hit in the chest and thrown backwards, knocking down several trees. Yuji growled, anger and embarrassment seeping through his every pore. With a feral yell, he burst forward, aiming a kick at Master Yu.

But Master Yu was quicker; he grasped Yuji's leg and began to spin, expecting to throw the boy through the trees again. Yuji surprised him by taking his other leg and wrapping it over one of Master Yu's arms and breaking the hold. Taking advantage of his opponent's surprise, Yuji punched Master Yu square in the face.

Jessy gasped, distracting Yuji. He was met with a punch to the jaw so strong that he blacked out. When he came to, Master Yu was standing over him, holding out a helping hand.

Master Yu laughed, "You are definitely a descendent of Raizen!" Yuji glanced around at everyone gaping at him, they all burst into laughter-even Kaito.

"What?" Yuji frowned, he knew who Raizen was-Yusuke had made sure he knew about his family's history, but he was severely confused. Had he missed something?

"Ranma wasn't lying," Master Yu continued. "He did say you were strong. You will be my newest pupil, young Urameshi." Master Yu turned back to Goku, "I will recommence training tomorrow morning. Now, if you'll excuse me—I must see to Shinobu." Master Yu disappeared in another flash of gray.

Yuji and the others made their way back to the village silently, when they reached their destination, the three new team mates were ordered back to the hut. Jessy tried to protest, but anything she might have had to say was quickly cut off by her father's dismissal. She stormed into the hut and sat in the corner, where Ranma still lay in slumber.

The silence in the hut was thick, Yuji had a million questions. But he was still wary of Kaito, who hadn't looked at him once since their return. None of them was quite sure how long they'd sat quietly, and it might have continued if Ranma hadn't suddenly let out a loud snore. They erupted into laughter.

Kaito finally turned to Yuji and held out his hand, "I wish to apologize." Yuji stared at the peace offering. "I mean it. We are team mates now, we will be fighting beside one another. This means I will have to trust my life with you at some point. I'd rather we be civil."

After a moment of careful observation, Yuji shook Kaito's hand. "But," Kaito continued while their hands were clasped, "I cannot forgive you for harming Shinobu. Perhaps, one day, I will be able to." Yuji nodded.

It was completely understandable.

* * *

As Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama walked through Makai towards Yusuke's inherited territory, Yusuke realized that he'd never been happier to be back in the Demon World.

He realized that he shouldn't be happy, having left his children and his pregnant wife behind, but there was no better escape from Keiko's piercing voice and raging hormones. She had been more than heart broken to hear not only that her son had voluntarily left, but also that her husband was going to be leaving for several months-_again_.

"You better be the strongest being in the universe when you get back, Yusuke Urameshi!" Keiko had warned him as he left, waving one hand over his shoulder. Yuki, Yuji's twin brother, had been quite difficult to deal with as well. Yuki had begged to join Yusuke in the Demon World and the tournament, but Yusuke had drawn the line. There was no way he would put anymore of his family in danger again.

It was difficult enough having Yuji involved, there was no telling what Yusuke might do should Keiko or any of their other children be endangered.

But the well placed emotions and worries of his family were not the true reason Yusuke was happy to be back in the Demon World. He was happy to be there because there was simply no place like it. In the Demon world he was able to test his powers at their fullest, he was able to train and fight until he passed out. It was something that was in his blood-_literally_.

Kuwabara, on the other hand, found it exceedingly difficult to be in Makai, away from his family. He was very attached to his wife and children, and hadn't been apart from there for more than a few days since he and Yukina had first married. When Kuwabara had informed his beautiful wife that he and the others would be gone for several months, she had held a brave face. He'd had no intention of telling his children, Yukina would've been more than glad to inform them after her husband was already in Demon World.

Things, however, hadn't turned out the way Kuwabara had expected. Zuma and Sakura had been eavesdropping and the moment their father was walking out the front door, they burst from their hiding places. They begged their father to stay. Their pleading voices and concern had brought tears to Kuwabara's eyes. He'd promised them he would come back safe, and that he'd bring everyone home safely.

Thinking about their faces and their protests brought new tears to the red head's eyes. He stifled a howl of sadness by shoving a fist in his mouth. He missed the awkward and highly uncomfortable glances thrown at him by his two companions.

Kurama took a few steps away from the sobbing man. Yusuke did the complete opposite. The dark haired man threw an arm around his friend, "C'mon, Kuwabara!" He laughed, "It's alright! We'll get through this, it's only a few months. Then, after we kick everyone's asses and get the kids back, we can see our families again!"

"He's right," Kurama agreed, staying a few feet behind the two. "We'll be back home before you know it, Kuwabara." Kuwabara sniffled and nodded glumly.

They walked for an hour or so, before they finally came upon Raizen's former abode. They made themselves comfortable and rested for a few hours to let the rain die down before they went out again to train.

It wasn't even thirty minutes before they were interrupted. They detected a massive wave of spirit energy heading their way-fast. Kurama transformed into his Yoko-form, Kuwabara extended his spirit sword and Yusuke had his demon gun at the ready.

The approaching person didn't bother to conceal themselves, they were completely tactless. The three men assumed it to be a young and foolish demon. The bushes near Kurama moved, he snapped his vine-whip lightly and wrapped it around the person's leg to drag them out. A scream rang out through Makai.

Nobody was more surprised and outraged than Yusuke was to see Yuki on the other end of the whip.

"Don't kill me!" Yuki shouted, closing his eyes and shielding his head from his father. Yusuke picked his son up by the collar of his shirt and slapped Yuki over the head several times.

"WHAT. THE. FUCK. ARE. YOU. THINKING." Yusuke bellowed, emphasizing each word with a slap. "WE. COULD. HAVE. FUCKING. KILLED. YOU. YOU. RETARD."

"I want to help you fight, Dad!" Yuki was holding his hands over his head, desperately trying to protect himself. Kuwabara and Kurama chuckled and shook their heads. Yusuke released his son, fuming.

He stood with his hands clenched, breathing heavily through his nose, trying to calm himself. Yuki shivered in fear. His father's reaction had not been what he'd expected. He had hoped that Yusuke would be overjoyed to see him.

With a shake of his head, Yusuke opened his brown eyes. "No."

"Aw," Yuki whined. "C'mon, Dad, you know I can help! I'm a good fighter, I'm just as good as Yuji!"

"Yeah," Yusuke scoffed. "And just look how well Yuji's managed to protect himself!" Yuki and the others winced at Yusuke's response. "I won't have any more of this family get into trouble. I'm gonna drag your ass home. Right now."

"No, wait, don't!" Yuki protested, managing to jerk himself from his father's sudden grasp. "I can seriously help you fight, I mean, you guys can't fight in the tournament with just three guys. Where are you expecting to magically come up with two more people?"

Yusuke made to object once more, but was cut off by Kurama, "Yuki makes a valid point, Yusuke." Yusuke stared at the fox demon in horror.

"Fuck that!" He shouted, "There is no way I am putting my kid through this tournament—we're in the middle of a war, Kurama! Or did you forget that little piece of information?"

Kurama smirked and shook his head, "Weren't you just saying a few weeks ago that you were planning to enter Yuji or Yuki into this same tournament?"

Yuki and Kuwabara stared between the composed Kurama and the umbrageous Yusuke, "You were?" Yuji screeched, grinning from ear to ear. Yusuke glared daggers at his crimson haired friend before finally turning to his son.

"I _was_," he admitted. "But things changed when your brother was taken from us." Yuki made to protest, but Yusuke continued, "Since you're already here, I'm willing to train you…if you can keep up with me. Right here. Right now." He took a fighting stance.

Yuki gulped.

* * *

Hiei wasn't sure what he would be met with on his return to Demon World. He'd been sure before, when he left Botan, that he might reach some insight on what to do about their situation. Things had changed, however, once he'd actually made it into Makai.

The fire demon had been met with surprising silence. It was as though Makai was in an unspoken, yet insurmountable frightened state. The low demons and beings within it seemed to be in hiding. Typically, Hiei would find fights no matter where he went, but there was nothing.

From an outside view, one might say that the Demon World was _peaceful_. But to those actually there, it was evident that there was something amiss. As to what might be causing such a strange alteration, nobody had any idea.

For over a week, Hiei met nothing. Although he felt several demons-in all ranges of classifications-he didn't encounter any of them. Nor did he run into any trouble.

Until his eighth day.

Hiei had been considering going back to the Human World. For days he'd been wondering what had happened and if there was any point to him even being in Makai. But he continued to shake off the thought, feeling an intuitive urgency to remain there.

As the sun began to set on his eighth day there, he stumbled upon a deserted demon village. Although the village was small, it still seemed peculiar to Hiei that it was so empty. What seemed even more peculiar to Hiei was that there was no reason for it to be void of life. It was near a river, uphill, plentiful in wildlife and fruit for food. It appeared to the fire demon that the former inhabitants either been wiped out (though there was no evidence of dead bodies) or they had suddenly bolted out of fear (though there was no evidence of that, either.).

Usually, Hiei would just pass by the village, giving it no more thought. But there was something about it that made him stay. He decided to explore the small shelters.

During his exploration, he felt a small prickle at the nape of his neck. It was weak, but it was familiar. Suddenly, a wave of spirit energy swept over him. Hiei's skin broke out in goosebumps. It struck him as strange, for the energy he'd felt was not one of a high class demon, but that of a low class. With a dark flash, Hiei burst from the hut he'd been exploring to face the demon.

What Hiei was met with was surprising on several levels: One being that the demon had the appearance of being quite strong, and, in a sense, held small resemblance to Kurama in his Yoko form. While Kurama was fair in both hair and skin, this demon was dark. His skin was the color of red dirt, a beautiful mixture of brown and crimson. His hair was silky, black and long, it hung like curtains from his head, on top of which was a massive set of black antlers.

The demon was surprised to see Hiei, his coal black eyes glistened with a mix of fear and fury. Hiei got the strange notion that the demon knew him, which was another striking oddity. Hiei knew he'd never met this being, yet there was a strange sense of familiarity: as though he'd seen the demon somewhere before. But Hiei was sure he would remember such a strange looking creature.

"What…are you?" Hiei asked, cocking his head. The demon never answered. In a flash too quick for even Hiei to notice, the demon was in front of him. Standing nose to nose, and before Hiei could react, the demon placed his long-clawed hands on Hiei's head.

And then everything went black.

* * *

AN: Have a great weekend, everyone! Remember, Reviews are Love!


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